Detail-obsessed yet vulnerable – Bompastor's recipe for success

Succeeding Emma Hayes was supposed to be difficult, yet under Sonia Bompastor Chelsea are flying.

When the Frenchwoman joined Chelsea from Lyon, she said she "hopes to live up to Emma's legacy". Eight months on and the 44-year-old has more than made the job her own.

Chelsea have enjoyed a near-perfect campaign under Bompastor so far, taking 16 wins and one draw from 17 games in all competitions.

With such an impressive unbeaten start, Bompastor could be forgiven for basking in the glory and taking plaudits, but she only ever praises the team., external

On the touchline she keeps her emotions in check. She is the epitome of cool, calm and collected.

And in her own words, she is at times "vulnerable".

"If a manager steps into an interview saying, 'I'm always 100% confident' I won't believe it because that's not true," she told BBC Radio 5 Live's Women's Football Weekly podcast.

"As a manager of course you are the leader, you have all the pressure on yourself and that's fine. That is my fuel and my energy every day. Sometimes it is good to make people understand that I am also vulnerable.

"As part of a family, sometimes you need to set the standard, sometimes you need to drive the high expectations. Sometimes it's also fine to say, 'I need your support, I'm vulnerable, and it's good to feel you are holding my back'."

With the pressure to deliver instant success, some managers may feel that showing vulnerability makes critiquing their players that little bit harder, but that's not the case for Bompastor.

She believes it is important to find the right balance between being "Sonia the coach" and "Sonia the person" for her players, and that it is a strength to let her players see that she too can have her guard down.

"When I'm the coach talking to the player I am direct," she added. "I always find a way to give constructive feedback and I always tell the truth. This is who I am. I manage with my values and I think that is really important.

"On the pitch and outside the pitch you just need to make sure your players know how to deal with every situation. I don't want my players to like me, to love me. This is not my goal. If I have respect from them, that's enough for me."

Bompastor's intense attention to detail extends well beyond the pitch and dressing room.

The broader club environment at Chelsea was also factored into her decision to move to west London. As a mother of four, she wanted a set-up welcoming to children.

She explained: "This is also why I made the decision to become the Chelsea manager. I think we are really aligned from a club perspective and my vision on lot of things; the ambitions, the vision and the values.

"When we speak about having the best environment for players and staff to feel safe and to come into the building every day and be happy, this is about also having the opportunity sometimes to bring kids."

West Ham captain Katrina Gorry joined the Women's Football Weekly recently to discuss environments where players' children are welcome and how they can bring out characteristics of a team you didn't realise were there.

While Chelsea don't currently have any players who are mothers, Bompastor wants an environment where children are welcomed.

Bompastor's children accompanied her as the team went to Portugal for a recent training camp.

"They spent all five days with us," she said. "It was a really nice moment for the players, for me too of course, and for the staff. It is just about finding the right moments."

A shock 1-1 draw against Women's Super League strugglers Leicester in December was the sole disappointment in a commanding opening half of the season for Chelsea under Bompastor.

Their tally of 31 points is a record for a team after 11 WSL games.

In the Champions League, they reached the quarter-finals with two group games to spare and went on to win all six matches.

They are still fighting for honours on all four fronts after booking their place in the FA Cup fifth round and play Championship side Durham in the League Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday.

Yet Bompastor sees scope for improvement.

She said: "I always look more on what we didn't achieve rather than what we achieve, but I need to make sure I get the right balance, even with the players.

"They need to have the confidence and most of the time that confidence comes from me. I need to make sure when we are doing good stuff I tell them that as well. But again, I'm always obsessed about everything we can improve."

Chelsea are the only remaining unbeaten side in this season's WSL. Bompastor knows the longer that run continues, the more other teams will want to end it.

"Of course we know everyone wants to beat us," she said. "We are in a good position at the moment, but in football everything can happen and if you are not prepared for that you can be in trouble."