"I am superstitious but not in a way that I say bad pre-season has to mean a bad season. I can't remember not winning two matches in a row in pre-season. To highlight the position Tuchel has found himself in, the Champions League winning manager said, "I don’t know if I ever lost a match in pre-season 4-0. Plus, as Chelsea return to Cobham it is very feasible that attention turns strongly to his trusted group of players that he truly sees as being central to next season. They are still, for example, without N'Golo Kante, a player that Tuchel still has plans on making into Chelsea's own Kylian Mbappe. Although the current situation is damning, with peripheral squad players such as Michy Batshuayi and Ross Barkley being given continued chances, and a large group of players that seemingly have their heads in other places due to transfer wishes, Chelsea do still have a core of very good players, albeit not all of them currently at Tuchel's disposal. It would be unwise to write the Blues off though. READ MORE: The seven Chelsea players Thomas Tuchel hinted at transfer exit in damning Arsenal verdict The German himself admitted that he's a "huge fan of a strong pre-season in everything: atmosphere, feeling, performance, belief," something that has severely been lacking from Chelsea's tour of America, at least on the pitch.
Whilst pre-season should be judged with an air of caution, it is tough to have go through bad preparation and then bounce back quickly for the league, which starts in an all too soon 13 days for Chelsea. His annoyance during the damaging 4-0 loss to Arsenal was clear to see and his statement after the game was just as worrying. Thomas Tuchel's frustrated character on the touchline wasn't a good message for Chelsea fans.