Marc Cucurella has praised Mauricio Pochettino and his coaching staff for their approach to managing the current Chelsea squad.

Pochettino was appointed Chelsea manager over the summer, after a difficult 2022-23 campaign saw them finish 12th on the Premier League table, while missing out on European football.

The team are still far from returning to their very best, but this season has come with some improvements, which Cucurella believes is partly down to the way Pochettino and his coaching crew relate with the players.

Speaking on the Argentine’s relationship with his players, Cucurella told the official Chelsea website: “He is a good manager. We know we are a good team and one of the important things is to have the team healthy, because we run a lot and press a lot. Now it’s about playing and getting confidence.

“The coaching staff like to be close with the players and speak with us, I think that is good for the team. We need to feel the confidence and I think he and his staff help a lot.

“We are in a good way and need to continue. There are a lot of games to finish the season and if we continue in this way, we can do good things this season.”