Chelsea Spring Back (Emma Hayes interview)

Chelsea took the Spring Series on the last day with thirty-two goals scored and three conceded, and Emma Hayes credits a dressing room accepting enough to absorb signings from several countries while the existing group raised its own level. She is candid that Manchester City had been the dominant side before Christmas and that Chelsea spent the off-season quietly working out why. Competition, she says, has created a healthier culture where nobody gets near the team without meeting minimum standards, and this is without doubt her best Chelsea squad. She is unusual among managers in saying she has been back coaching on the grass and considers head coach the more important half of her job. On recruitment she is firm: never sign from a tournament.