Sonia Bompastor: Chelsea’s new supervisor on changing Emma Hayes & how one can cease Man Metropolis’s Bunny Shaw

Sonia Bompastor has actually made the right begin to life as Chelsea Girls’s head coach, however on Saturday she and the Girls’s Tremendous League champions face their hardest take a look at thus far 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 the US nationwide aspect having simply guided the membership to its sixth straight WSL crown, a process that may have delay many, however not for the 44-year-old Frenchwoman.

Bompastor, in fact, is aware of all about silverware from her time in France, changing into the primary lady 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 tremendous for me being in that surroundings. That is what I like and that is the job. When you may have a job the place you may have a variety of accountability, that is a part of it. You simply have to deal with that and embrace and go together 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 thus far this season, together with a first-ever win on the Emirates and the membership’s first away win to Arsenal since 2020 – in actual fact, if Chelsea beat Metropolis, she’s going to turn 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 unimaginable job of changing an iconic supervisor look comparatively simple thus far, with Chelsea prime of their Champions League group and trailing Metropolis by a degree, however having performed a recreation lower than their rivals.

Not that the modest Bompastor sees it that means, 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 in addition, I’ve a squad with a variety of high quality, a variety of expertise and I simply want to provide them a variety 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 nice 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.”

A part of the explanation for such a clean transition, aside from Bompastor taking on a membership in impolite well being, is that Chelsea’s gamers having been keen 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, reasonably than an entire 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 in addition, I can’t be another person. I’ve to be myself with my concepts, my values, my imaginative and prescient. So possibly the principle factor is, attempt to change some small issues, however attempting to be clean and attempting to make my gamers concerned within the modifications and attempting to elucidate to them why. I feel it is a part of the success within the course of.

“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 may 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 can solely get you thus far and finally, you want wins to indicate you realize 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.”

It’s also 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 properly. Once more, with the assist of the membership. I feel it is a problem for the household, for me individually, but in addition for the youngsters.

“They nonetheless are eager about their associates over there, the college. Some completely different technique to stay as properly, as a result of we have been residing 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, nevertheless, Bompastor’s aspect have an awesome 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 recreation some are already calling a title decider.

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

However regardless of the duo having already opened up a sizeable hole on their rivals, Bompastor doesn’t see the battle 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, it is going to 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 side, so it is too quickly to say one thing in regards to the title.”

If Chelsea are to emerge victorious on the Bridge, nevertheless, they might want to maintain Man Metropolis ahead Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw, the WSL prime scorer with seven objectives to her title already this season, in test, which is simpler mentioned than carried out.

The Jamaica worldwide has been in unstoppable type in entrance of objective for Gareth Taylor’s group once more thus far 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 current 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 very good recreation if we need 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​​​​​​