Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor insists she will bring a ‘different vision and philosophy’ to former manager Emma Hayes… and claims she does NOT feel the pressure after joining the Blues

If following in Emma Hayes’ footsteps wasn’t already a monumental task, the fact that the former Chelsea manager won Olympic gold after just ten games as manager of the United States has only enhanced her reputation.

But when her successor, Frenchwoman Sonia Bompastor, attended her first press conference at Stamford Bridge with a big smile on her face, it quickly became clear that the Blues had found someone more than ready to take on the challenge.

“I am a very different person than Emma, ​​I have a different vision and philosophy,” Bompastor said.

“I’m just trying to build on that legacy and find a way to manage the players and the staff. For me it’s really important to come to this club, respect everything that’s been built up before and develop my own vision.

“I think that with my background and experience I can support the players and the club to achieve their goals. I hope that we will be successful. It is also about me bringing my vision, my experience and background. I talk a lot about myself, but it is also about Camille Abby, my assistant and the other coaches. I will use everyone to make sure that we bring what we need to bring to make sure that this team continues to perform at a high level.”

The Frenchwoman stresses that she will bring a ‘different vision and philosophy’ to the club

Chelsea prepare for a new era under Bompastor after the departure of Emma Hayes

Bompastor left Lyon, where she won three consecutive league titles and the 2021-22 Champions League, to join Chelsea. She was the obvious candidate and Bompastor seemed ready to seize the opportunity.

When Chelsea first reached out, the 44-year-old joked: “Am I allowed to give out this kind of information? I don’t understand the question, sorry!”

She continued: ‘It was a secret to everyone, right? In France, no one knew the secret. No, I’m joking, because of course everyone knew I was coming, and we tried to keep it a secret, but it wasn’t a secret.

‘I just felt it was the best way to do it, you know, not telling everyone I was coming, because I wanted to show respect for Lyon and we were still involved in such big games at the end of the season with the league, the Champions League final. So yeah, I just felt it was the right thing to do.

‘I knew, I’m not going to say the date, but I knew almost since Emma said, “I’m leaving,” just a couple of weeks after I knew I was going to be the new Chelsea manager. But we kept it a secret until March?

‘I think the news just came out, we had to play a French Cup game, and all the players were on social media before the game and they came up to me and I thought, “Oh, I don’t know what’s going on!”

Bompastor is the only woman to have won the Champions League as a player and manager. Her experience in Europe was one of the main reasons Chelsea, who have yet to win the competition, hired her.

Bompastor insisted she wants the WSL champions to ‘perform at a high level’

‘Every trophy is very important, but the UWCL is a special one. At the moment the club has had success in the past, but maybe this is the one that is missing. When I had the meeting with the sporting directors I said it was something special to win. I had the incredible opportunity to win it as a player and as a manager. I think we have all the infrastructure in place to win it. We have to work very hard to make sure we get it. I can’t wait to get started in this competition because it really is a special one.’

Chelsea automatically qualified for the group stage after winning the WSL last season. Although they have yet to discover their three opponents, they already know that they will face some tough league games before and after those games.

The Blues play Manchester United on October 6, with their first group game taking place on October 7/8. After that midweek game, they play Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on October 13.

For the second round of the group matches they will play Liverpool and Manchester City before and after. If they advance to the quarter-finals, they will have an away match against City between the two matches.

Bompastor says the competition in the Women’s Super League compared to other countries has held English clubs back, and has prompted her to work with the English Football Association to see how they can adjust fixtures.

Hayes helped Chelsea win five consecutive WSL titles before moving to the US

‘I watch so many games from the English league, and I think the biggest difference is the intensity. The league is much more competitive compared to France. In France, you usually only have two clubs that can win the title. So here you probably have three or four.

‘Every game will be very difficult physically and something that will be really difficult is that sometimes, if you have a Champions League game in the middle of the week, you still have to play your really big game at the weekend against Arsenal, Manchester City or United. This is something very difficult because you have to perform in one week with three games, three competitive games and this is something that is sometimes really difficult for the players to be able to perform with not much recovery between games.

‘This is really something different than in France, because in France the French Federation helped the French clubs a lot, especially those who play in the Champions League, and this is an example, but every time we played a Champions League game in the middle of the week, the French Federation was the one who made sure that we didn’t play against a big team in the competition, just to help us perform in the Champions League. This is really something good, and maybe this is something we need to work on with the FA. I will try to make my voice heard.’

Chelsea have won the last five WSL titles and Bompastor knows the expectation is that she will continue Hayes’ work and compete in Europe as well.

Bompastor also hopes to lead Chelsea to success in Europe in the 2024-2025 season

Hayes was by far the longest-serving manager before her departure. She was perhaps the only manager in the league who was untouchable. However, Bompastor says she feels no pressure from the club’s owners and has been assured she will be given time.

‘At the moment I don’t feel any pressure. Even if the club puts pressure on me, I’m the one who puts more pressure on me. I don’t need anyone to tell me what to do. I don’t feel that pressure. I signed for four years, I think four years is a good time to put down my own philosophy, vision and what I feel at the moment, it’s up to me.

“The club has supported me, my coaches, the staff, the players and the environment and the atmosphere so much that I am grateful for that. As for the contract, I felt that from the beginning, everyone welcomed me to the club, so I am so happy to be here.

‘It was really important because when I join a new club or a new project, I just want to feel like I belong and that I’m working with people who are on the same page, have the same vision of the game, the women’s game. I just felt that from the first meeting with everyone in the club. Ambitions, we’re on the same page, winning mentality, we’re on the same page. With the right support, we’re on the same page. I just feel like I’m in the right place.’