Cole Palmer will be going flat out to score for Chelsea against Middlesbrough (Picture: Getty Images)

It’s better to tell a hard truth than a soft lie so here goes about Mauricio Pochettino. 

There?s no doubt he?s an A+ manager, right up therewhen it comes to coaching youngsters, drawing the full potential out of their talents and developing extraordinarily entertaining teams capable of mixing it with the very best in the business. 

Any club looking for someone to take over at the helm would be insane not to pencil his name on their shortlist as he possesses a clear plan for the future and, given time and the right tools, he will complete the job. Well, nearly. 

That?s the bit where the hard truth and the soft lie comes into play. Poch transformed Tottenham into one of the very best teams in Europe, regularly qualifying for the Champions League and even reaching the 2019 final in Madrid.
He took them to the 2015 League Cup showcase and twice to the brink of Premier League immortality but ultimately they always fell short.

Now Poch is in charge at Chelsea, orchestrating a similar rebuilding job, and after a few hiccups it looks as though the Blues are heading in the right direction.

They have won three straight Premier League games and four of their last five outings in all competitions but the solitary defeat was a 1-0 reversal at Middlesbrough in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final with the mediocre Championship side.

Mauricio Pochett...