Football is a competitive sport, and it’s one where if you fall into your comfort zone, your results may begin to suffer.

Blues boss Mauricio Pochettino is of the belief that some of his players may have fallen into their comfort zone.

Speaking ahead of playing Manchester United, Pochettino was asked whether he fears his players may have fallen into a comfort zone, he said: “Yes. I agree. It was one of the subjects we were talking about.

“I am going to explain what I explained to them. When I was at Espanyol, my first experience as a coach, I was at the training ground at 7 o’clock every morning.

“Then when I moved to Southampton: 6.30am. Then to ­Tottenham: 7am, sometimes 7.30am. Then PSG: the same, 6 in the morning. Now, again: 6.45am, 6.40am.

“It is not going to change. After 15 years, my passion is here, my motivation is football. After 15 years of working your salary increases but that cannot put me in a very comfortable zone to say: ‘Now I arrive at 9 o’clock and leave at 2 o’clock.’ I need to keep pushing myself.

“That question is true. If now because I move from another club – in another club I was playing for less money, for less expectation, no one is expecting ­anything from me – but now I arrive here and people really believe that I’m so good but now I feel the pressure, what do I need to do?

“It is to arrive early, it is to work more. It is to run more, it is to be more focused.  What you say is important. Never be in a comfort zone.

“If you are in a comfort zone you drop your level, you drop your standards. I don’t say that happened here because too many other things happened. But that is one of the things that we are aware of.

“When you mix this a little bit, a small percentage, easy life, easy that, then when you put it all together it is not easy.

“The demand to win is completely different. To prepare yourself to win every single game you need to have experience, to be mature, to know yourself and the people around you. Why we are in the process to build something.”