Chelsea hire a new coach to help create winning mentality at Stamford Bridge

Chelsea have hired the mental skills coach Gilbert Enoka to help create a winning culture at the club, according to The Telegraph.

Enoka is behind the All Blacks’ rugby union team’s “no-d—heads” policy and spent 15 years as the team’s mental skills coach.

Rugby is not the only sport Enoka has worked in, as the former PE teacher also spent six years as a mental skills coach with the New Zealand cricket team and three years with the Silver Ferns netball team.

But working with Chelsea will be Enoka’s first foray into football, with the remit to help the club develop a new, world-class culture under the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital ownership.

After spending over £600 million over the last two transfer windows, it is believed the new signings could flop under the weight of expectation if the right culture is not created.

Successive Chelsea managers have questioned the mental fortitude of the Chelsea squad since the club last won the Premier League title in 2017.

Enoka’s most famous mantra is the ‘no d***head policy’ he sticks to, in an effort to make squads united and insist that everyone is held accountable for their own actions. His policy means any bad apples will need to be exiled as quickly as possible.

He said: “A d—head makes everything about them. Often teams put up with it because a player has so much talent. We look for early warning signs and wean the big egos out pretty quickly. Our motto is, if you can’t change the people, change the people.”