Can Mourinho Unlock Hazard’s Potential?

Can Mourinho Unlock Hazard’s Potential?

The Chelsea number 10 was voted as the PFA Young Player of the Year last season and he also finished second behind Liverpool striker Luis Suarez in the main award. He was the Blues’ go to man to unlock opposition defences and he scored 14 league goals last season as the London club finished third in the final league standings.

Hazard has had a poor start to the season by his standards and Mourinho is eager to bring out the best in him. According to Mirror, the 23-year-old said, “There is a lot of respect – he is the best coach in the world – and he gives me a lot of confidence. Even after a bad match, he picks me again. He will have a little dig saying, ‘Today we played with 10’, but he stops there. He leaves me alone and does not go on at me.”

“It is the first time I have known this with a coach,” Hazard added. “The others tended to protect me. He really wants my potential to explode and he does everything to make it happen. I was just wondering if I was going to be stressed when he had a go at me.”

“I remember my first warm-up matches in Asia with him. He killed me once or twice then I thought, ‘Okay, this is the Mourinho style’. When he looks you in the eyes, you feel like the target and it doesn’t feel good at the time.”

“If you do not give 100 per cent, you know he will not let that go and it might hurt. There have already been great slanging matches in the changing room, but that stays behind closed doors. It’s funny to see that – as long it’s not about you.”