Mauricio Pochettino: 'I can't wait to start the new season'

mauricio, the squad is back to work. How has the return gone?

"We haven't got all the players back yet of course, there are many who were in the national team and who have gone far in competitions. There are also the latest signings, who are joining us gradually. During these off-seasons, the players come back with different levels of fitness. The main objective of the first week of work is to get everyone back to the same level."

after ten days work, two games await... 

"We have two friendly matches scheduled this week, against Le Mans on Wednesday and Chambly on Saturday at the Ooredoo Centre. We want to be competitive, these are two games that will help us get back to feeling good on the pitch."

There have been international competitions this summer, how do you manage the recovery for players who come back late?

"Dealing with emotions after an international competition is part of my job as a coach. But I am sure that the players who won will come back full of joy, with the will to continue their momentum, the others will have moved on and will want to focus on new objectives. With the desire to prepare well to start winning titles again."

what are the different aspects you're focusing on at the moment? 

"It's a package. It's difficult to break it down, you can't do fitness work without some tactical work and vice versa. Everything goes together, we have to make sure that the players develop well in all areas."

what kind of a team can we expect next season? 

"We want to apply the same principles as last season. We want to be an aggressive team in the right sense of the word, to be dominant on the pitch and to play in the opponent's half. We like playing well and understanding our players’ games, we work to have the best possible understanding on the pitch, more than just the system we use. We are clear about what we expect, about the mentality and about the principles of the game. And above all on the fact that we want to win every match, which is a standard for a club like Paris Saint-Germain. That's our biggest challenge, to make sure we don't differentiate between competitions, and play every game with the same desire to win."

games are coming fast...

"For us, friendly matches are official training sessions! They will put us in shape and will allow us to build on the work we have done since the start of the season. We are focused on August 1st, the date of our first official match, the objective will be to be there with the players at the best possible level."

we feel like you're super motivated! what's the squad's state of mind? 

"I'm really looking forward to the new season, we all want to get back on the pitch and compete. We are working hard, the atmosphere in the squad is very good, within the team and throughout the club. After a difficult year, everyone needed to recharge their batteries, and today there is a very positive energy. We are all very happy to have started working again."