Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has claimed he's the happiest he's ever been since arriving at Stamford Bridge, though he admits English football is even harder than he expected.
The former Paris Saint-Germain boss replaced Frank Lampard at the helm of the Blues in January. His arrival helped transform the Blues' season, taking them from ninth in the Premier League to fourth in little over three months.
Arguably his greatest achievement at the club so far has been guiding them to only their third ever Champions League final and the German couldn't hide his delight at how well his tenure has gone so far, replying when asked by Sky Sports news if it was the happiest he'd ever been: "Absolutely, yes, it feels very, very good to be coach here.
"It has felt like this from the first day and has never changed and I say this regularly to my family, to my friends.
"I say it out loud that it is like this and I don't hold back and that if it ever changes, that they should remind me that I said it out loud. I don't want to hold back but I never got the feeling I have to hold back.
"I'm absolutely happy and it feels like the right place at the right moment to be for me. Hopefully everybody feels it and hopefully that makes me confident and calm. I have the feeling I can totally concentrate on my job as coach and I'm appreciated and in the right place at the right moment. It feels like a big reward and I'm very happy about it."
Despite his success since arriving at Chelsea, Tuchel did concede English football is even harder and more demanding than he'd expected and that the return of fans will no doubt bring with it even more challenges.
"No, [it has not been easy]," he said. "It's super hard, it's even harder than we expected. It matches minimum all the expectations. So from the intensity level to the schedule we have and what it demands from you, every team has a unique style of playing and it's so intense. At the moment, there aren't even supporters.
"I can hardly imagine what it's like to play all these away games at Southampton, at Leeds, at Liverpool. I've played Liverpool twice already but to play all these matches against smaller teams with the support of their spectators.
"I don't know what would have happened if we arrived in the FA Cup at Barnsley and they had their enthusiastic crowd behind them, maybe we would not be in the FA Cup final.
Chelsea's bid for a top four finish sees them travel to Manchester City on Saturday. Tuchel couldn't hide his admiration for the job Pep Guardiola has done at the Premier League champions elect claiming he wants to have a similar impact at the Blues.
"Hopefully we are on our way, this is the job," he added. "I want to transform Chelsea with the support of everyone around me and the players of course. We want to become a winning machine, we want to become a reliable squad who can produce these kinds of performances that leads to results every three days.
"I'm very pleased because that's what we are actually doing at the moment and it's very impressive. It's a pure joy to be on the sideline and guide this team and be part of this club."
Source : 90min