‘I know who I am’ – Bompastor defiant after tough week

Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor has not had many tougher weeks in her managerial career.

Having fallen 12 points adrift of Women’s Super League (WSL) leaders Manchester City, suffering back-to-back defeats in the process, pressure was at its highest.

She faced backlash from her own supporters, questions over her position at the club, and anything other than victory at Tottenham would have been a disaster.

The club rallied around the Frenchwoman, who led Chelsea to an unbeaten domestic treble in her debut season, by announcing she had signed a four-year contract extension 48 hours before their crucial game at Spurs.

That was the backing she needed and Bompastor could breathe a sigh of relief – and even celebrate animatedly – as her side got over the line with a 2-0 win.

“Even if we all know we can’t control anything of that, we probably felt it was unfair to receive that amount of criticism,” said Bompastor.

“I know who I am, I don’t need people outside my environment to tell me who I am. I will always make sure I give my best. I know I have the competence, I know I have the knowledge, I know the women’s game and I do my best for Chelsea.

“I’m not saying I’m the best one, I’m not saying I’m arrogant, but I know who I am. I always make sure I support my players in the best way possible.

With the WSL title seemingly out of their grasp, Chelsea’s priority is to ensure they clinch a top-three spot and qualification for next season’s Champions League.

Rivals Arsenal and Manchester United did their part earlier in the weekend – so Chelsea had to respond.

Tottenham, who started the game a point behind Chelsea, came out of the blocks firing and could have taken the lead when Olivia Holdt hit the crossbar.

Nervy Chelsea were in a battle until Keira Walsh’s goal just before half-time rocked Spurs and put the Blues in the driving seat. It was the “game-changer” they needed.

“When you want to perform at your best, you need to have the four elements of the performance align at the highest level – the tactical, mental, physical and technical aspects,” said Bompastor.

“If one of them, or some of them, are not as high as possible, it affects the performance. We were a different team in the second half. That’s who we want to be.”

Bompastor’s actions were deliberate on Sunday. After the warm-up, she walked out on to the pitch and high-fived every member of her squad.

She celebrated with assistant coach Meline Gerard, who lifted her up and spun her around in the dugout, when Walsh’s goal put Chelsea 1-0 up – something she rarely does, but said afterwards she should do more.

In normal circumstances, a victory at Tottenham would be seen as par for the course. But this was three points which gave Chelsea a significant boost.

“I will enjoy it. I’m not going to lie, it’s been a difficult time. It’s been tough so we need to celebrate with players and staff,” said Bompastor.

“We know when we are at Chelsea we need to win every game and we want, as much as possible, to be in control. To do that, we need to get points to win.

Chelsea’s performance still left much to be desired but Bompastor said she was “really proud” of how her players dealt with the unfamiliar criticism.

The Blues have won six successive domestic titles so most in the squad have never experienced a season without silverware.

They have already booked their place in the Women’s League Cup final, have a fifth-round FA Cup tie to play and are in the Champions League quarter-finals.

If they win a European crown – the one trophy that has eluded them – their WSL blip will be quickly forgotten.

But experienced midfielder Erin Cuthbert said the overall feeling was “relief” after the Spurs victory – and this was unknown territory for the serial winners.

“It’s been a tough couple of weeks, an experience that some of us haven’t been used to. Over the 10 years I’ve been here, we’ve had moments like this,” Cuthbert told BBC Two.

“The league’s getting better and we’ve played against two top teams who probably beat us quite convincingly. It was back to the drawing board this week.

“We didn’t want to be a Chelsea team who bow down game after game. That’s not what we’re about, that’s not what we’re built upon.