Levi Colwill says he’s already noticed what a great manager Mauricio Pochettino is after a short space of time working with him at Chelsea.
Levi Colwill, 20, is the latest Blues academy graduate to force their way into the first-team group at Stamford Bridge.
The left-footed defender has played every Premier League minute at the start of the season, so he’s obviously doing something right to impress the head coach.
Colwill, who spent last year on loan at Brighton, has shared he had a conversation with Brighton’s Adam Lallana this summer specifically about Mauricio Pochettino.
Lallana passed on high praise for Pochettino after being coached by him at Southampton earlier in his career.
Now, Colwill claims he’s starting to see what the hype is about and he’s loving life working under Chelsea’s boss.
“I have had conversations with Adam [Lallana]. And he told me about how much of a good guy he (Pochettino) was and he thinks he is a really good manager and I took that on board when I was making my decision,” Colwill said, as quoted by The Mirror.
“When I finally met him, I realised everything Adam said was true.
“He is a great manager, really makes me feel comfortable and allows me to play my best game. I think with him at the club, it has changed so much and now we want to kick on.
“I think the big thing for me is, on the first day I came in, putting an arm around me and showing me that he respects me as a person and also as a player. That allows me to work my hardest and makes me want to play my best for him.
“That’s a big difference, him showing that there are two sides whereas the majority of managers may just look at you like a footballer, which he doesn’t. That helps me play my best football. I know I’m going to improve. I can guarantee that. He’s such a good manager and he will push me, he won’t let me have any off-days, that’s what I need.
“Someone like me, if someone lets me go to sleep, I might just have a good day or a bad day. I need someone there to give me that kick up bum and say ‘keep going’. That’s what he does.”
We’re fully expecting Colwill to be a key figure in Pochettino’s line-up. Hopefully, we get to see the Englishman in a more conventional centre-back position as the season progresses, too.
Pochettino recently called Colwill a “big talent” after a positive start to the season, as quoted by the club’s official website.
It’s great to hear this early bond form between player and manager.
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