Thomas Tuchel has begun life in London extremely well, guiding Chelsea to six wins and two draw in his opening eight games since replacing Frank Lampard. However, the German boss has now openly admitted to feeling a lack of trust from the Premier League giants when being offered the job.
Having been sacked by PSG, the former Dortmund manager was snatched up by the Blues for free after Abramovich made the decision to part ways with the club icon that is Lampard. Little time was wasted, with Super Frank's replacement being brought in almost immediately but the 47-year-old admits that one aspect of the Chelsea offer left him hesitant.
That was the duration of the contract. The London giants, a club known for being trigger happy when it comes to firing managers, tabled an 18-month deal for the German. The reason was obvious: given the current financial climate, the Stamford Bridge side were not ready to offer a long-term contract in fear of having to pay a huge compensation fee should Tuchel ultimately disappoint and get sacked.
Abrahmovic has reportedly paid a whopping $158M in compensation due to the managerial merry-go-round that has ensued since his arrival at Stamford Bridge. As a result, this can be seen as a calculated cost-saving move.
Speaking to BT Sport, Tuchel admitted that he initially had concerns, feeling that an 18-month deal showed a lack of trust in a manager who won two Ligue 1 titles and a UEFA Champions League runners-up medal. However, the German eventually came around after accepting that his fate at Chelsea will only be decided by his performance.
"It was all done in 72 hours," Thomas told Rio Ferdinand.
"At first I didn't like it, I thought 'maybe they don't trust me?
"I have to leave my country, maybe leave my family behind and they are many points behind fourth spot.
"Maybe we won't make it which is still possible because it's a tough race and it will be easy to sack me again.
"But after just a matter of minutes I took the weight off my shoulders.
"I thought 'if I'm good, if they like what I'm doing they will make me stay.
"'If I'm not good, if I don't have good results they will sack me anyway.
"I can have a five-year contract and they could still sack me so why worry about it?
"Am I convinced about myself? Yes. Am I convinced about this club and team? Yes and yes. So why worry?
"From there on I stepped out of the cycle of thinking and I live a bit easier now. I don't worry as much."
There is an option for an extra year in Tuchel's deal should he secure a spot in the UCL twice, and with the start he has had in London, one could easily see him hitting that milestone. Mount and Co. have climbed back up the table and currently sit in fifth, two points behind fourth-placed West Ham and three ahead of sixth-placed Liverpool.
He made his UEFA Champions League debut for his new team on Tuesday, taking on Atletico in the first leg of their round of 16 tie, and earned more credit in the bank with that performance. His men took on the Spanish Primera Division league leaders away from home and came away with a crucial 1-0 win thanks to an acrobatic Olivier Giroud goal. They are now in the driving seat to make the quarter-finals as they simply need to defend their lead in the return leg.
