Sonia Bompastor: Chelsea’s new supervisor on changing Emma Hayes & the best way to cease Man Metropolis’s Bunny Shaw | Soccer Information

Sonia Bompastor has actually made the right begin to life as Chelsea Ladies’s head coach, however on Saturday she and the Ladies’s Tremendous League champions face their hardest take a look at to date this season when Man Metropolis go to Stamford Bridge for what already seems to be like a title decider.

Bompastor changed Emma Hayes within the Chelsea dugout final summer season after she left to take cost of america nationwide aspect having simply guided the membership to its sixth straight WSL crown, a job that may have postpone many, however not for the 44-year-old Frenchwoman.

Bompastor, in fact, is aware of all about silverware from her time in France, turning into the primary girl to land the Champions League as a participant and supervisor with Lyon, in complete successful 11 main trophies throughout two spells on the membership as a participant, earlier than claiming three straight league titles and the 2021-22 Champions League trophy as coach.

“I’m used to that [pressure] as a former player,” she instructed Sky Sports activities. “I’ve done that all my career as a player and also my whole life. I think that’s something that gives me the motivation, being under pressure.

“I actually love that. That is effective for me being in that setting. That is what I like and that is the job. When you might have a job the place you might have plenty of duty, that is a part of it. You simply have to deal with that and embrace and go along with it.”

And boy has Bompastor embraced the problem of taking on from a seven-time WSL champion, with the brand new supervisor having received each single match she has taken cost of to date this season, together with a first-ever win on the Emirates and the membership’s first away win to Arsenal since 2020 – the truth is, if Chelsea beat Metropolis, she is going to develop into the primary coach in WSL historical past to win their first seven video games.

A lot in order that like with Arne Slot at Liverpool, she is making the so-called unattainable job of changing an iconic supervisor look comparatively simple to date, with Chelsea high of their Champions League group and trailing Metropolis by a degree, however having performed a sport lower than their rivals.

Not that the modest Bompastor sees it that method, preferring to reward Hayes for the state of the membership she handed over.

“Emma just left the club in a great place, good legacy for me,” she mentioned. “Also, I always give a lot of credit to my player because as a manager, you just need to make sure you bring the good ideas for the players.

“You just connect your game model to the squad you have and making sure you just work around that for them to feel comfortable to play the way I want them to play, to understand my vision and my game model.

“But additionally, I’ve a squad with plenty of high quality, plenty of expertise and I simply want to offer them plenty of credit score for that, as a result of they’re those who’re on pitch, they’re those who’re performing and getting the great outcomes. So, yeah, that is easy. Even when behind the scenes, in fact, it is powerful and it is a powerful job since you by no means put your mind off.

“It’s 24 hours a day, seven days a week. So, it’s tough, but it’s my passion and I really enjoy being the Chelsea manager.”

It is 24 hours a day, seven days every week. So, it is powerful, but it surely’s my ardour and I actually get pleasure from being the Chelsea supervisor.

A part of the rationale for such a clean transition, other than Bompastor taking on a membership in impolite well being, is that Chelsea’s gamers having been prepared to tackle board new concepts, whereas the brand new supervisor herself has additionally correctly opted for small, delicate, tweaks to what was already a well-oiled machine, fairly than a whole overhaul.

“The main thing is for me to try to find a good balance between making changes and respect the environment the players were working on,” mentioned Bompastor. “I think as humans, the changes can be a bit of a challenge. And I know that because I’m a human as well. So finding the good balance is probably the right thing to do.

“But additionally, I can’t be another person. I’ve to be myself with my concepts, my values, my imaginative and prescient. So possibly the primary factor is, attempt to change some small issues, however attempting to be clean and attempting to make my gamers concerned within the adjustments and attempting to clarify to them why. I feel it is a part of the success within the course of.

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“So I tried to explain why I wanted maybe to change. I explained to them my game model, why I wanted to play that way. And I always try to make them involved in my reflections. I think it’s something that helps the players to understand. And I think as women, they like to be part of the process.”

That course of is smoother when you might have the physique of labor behind you that Bompastor arrived in west London with, together with over 150 worldwide caps for France.

“They like to understand why we make some changes,” she mentioned. “And of course, the fact I was a player and I had success in my career as a player and as a coach probably helped me a lot having the credibility in the beginning.”

Though, that may solely get you to date and finally, you want wins to indicate you recognize what you’re speaking about and she or he has these in spades.

“But after, in the longer term, even if you have your credibility in the beginning, you just have to show your competencies,” she mentioned. “So I’m trying to do that. And winning is something helpful.”

Additionally it is very important that you’ve stability off the pitch, too, and with 4 younger kids, Bompastor is glad she and her household have made such a fast adaptation to life in London.

“I settled in really well,” she mentioned. “I felt a warm welcome in the club. The club supported me the right way. So, I think I felt the support and the right support for me to settle really quickly and in a nice way.

“As a household, we settled in nicely. Once more, with the assist of the membership. I feel it is a problem for the household, for me individually, but additionally for the youngsters.

“They nonetheless are fascinated with their pals over there, the college. Some totally different method to stay as nicely, as a result of we had been dwelling extra within the aspect nation in France. We stay extra in central London right here.

“I just feel lucky to have the chance to be the Chelsea manager and also to give the opportunity to my family and to my kids to live this challenge and live this opportunity. So that’s all positive. And I’m someone who also takes things in a positive way.”

On the sphere, nonetheless, Bompastor’s aspect have a terrific probability to put down a marker within the title race once they tackle leaders Man Metropolis in entrance of an anticipated 20,000 crowd at Stamford Bridge on Saturday night time in a sport some are already calling a title decider.

These two sides competed all the best way all the way down to the ultimate sport of final season, with Chelsea finally being topped champions solely on aim distinction from Man Metropolis.

However regardless of the duo having already opened up a sizeable hole on their rivals, Bompastor doesn’t see the struggle for this season’s title as being only a two-horse race.

“It looks that way in terms of results and if you look at the table for sure,” she mentioned. “In terms of results maybe City and us are the teams who showed the best results, but I still think there are many, many games to be played.

“And this league is so aggressive, particularly as a result of Man Metropolis, Arsenal and us are going to play Champions League once more till finish of December. So, will probably be a problem for us with the ability to play these Champions League video games and the league video games and each group can drop some factors in that facet, so it is too quickly to say one thing concerning the title.”

If Chelsea are to emerge victorious on the Bridge, nonetheless, they might want to preserve Man Metropolis ahead Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw, the WSL high scorer with seven objectives to her identify already this season, in verify, which is less complicated mentioned than achieved.

The Jamaica worldwide has been in unstoppable type in entrance of aim for Gareth Taylor’s group once more to date this marketing campaign and one other within the capital this weekend will see her transfer degree with Chelsea’s Sam Kerr on 57 profession WSL objectives.

So how do you go about stopping the irrepressible Shaw?

“We know even if sometimes she’s quiet a little bit, she can just have one action and score,” mentioned Bompastor, referring to Shaw’s latest double – together with a surprising stoppage-time winner – that turned the sport on its head at Anfield because the guests secured an important 2-1 win.

“She’s efficient, she’s really strong. This is when you play the best teams, you expect that, to have that type of player who are able in one action to make the difference, make a big impact.

“So, we’re prepared for that and we all know we should do a extremely good sport if we wish to win.”

Either way, we are in store for a mouthwatering, top-of-the-table clash in front of a packed house and the Sky Sports TV cameras in the capital on Saturday Night Football.

Watch Chelsea vs Man Metropolis within the WSL stay on Sky Sports activities Premier League & Soccer on Saturday from 5pm; kick-off 5.30pm​​​​​​