Thomas
Tuchel insisted it is his job to turn Timo Werner's form around this season,
believing his fellow German is carrying "weight on his shoulders".
Werner joined from RB Leipzig for an initial £45m in the summer, and enjoyed
a purple patch in front of goal in October as he appeared to have adjusted
to life in the Premier League.
However, the 24-year-old is without a league goal since early November, with
his form taking a severe downturn. Nonetheless, Tuchel spoke in depth about
his plans for his fellow countryman during his unveiling press conference,
highlighting the need for Werner to rediscover his smile.
"Timo prefers to have space," Tuchel said. "He is super fast, likes to play
very high up on the last line. A little bit more to the left, to receive the
ball in the open space. Can we develop movements and patterns of behaviour
to use his quality in narrow spaces? I am absolutely convinced, and that is
my job [to do that].
"The guy is young, the guy is open, the guy is friendly and the guy is eager
to learn. At the moment I can see that his face is a bit closed, I can see
that the weight is on his shoulders. He cares a lot, and it shows that he
has fantastic character.
"Sometimes as a striker it does not help if you care a lot, it is better as
a striker to not care at all, but he is not that guy. He is not happy with
himself and the way things have gone lately.
"It is important to rebuild his trust in himself, and to re-find a smile on
his face and to stop doubting himself too much. It is my job to help him
with this, and to help find the position where we can use his strengths."
Tuchel, while coming to London with a reputation for being a good coach, has
previously endured strained relationships at some of his former clubs.
Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke labelled Tuchel a "difficult
person" while it is no secret the 47-year-old had his disagreements with
some at Paris Saint-Germain.
Although Tuchel is yet to converse with Roman Abramovich, he feels the
structure at Chelsea suits him, and admitted he is still learning how to
conduct himself within clubs.
"I won four titles in the last season and that was not enough," Tuchel
added. "It came up in the transfer periods, I have to admit, that the wishes
and ideas between coaches and sporting directors did not really match. This
can happen sometimes.
"Once a relationship gets difficult there is always two sides [to the
story]. I am not here to blame anyone. I am absolutely self-aware, this is a
thing to improve - to be more relaxed and not too stubborn in my beliefs.
"The structure that I find here is a very clear and easy one to understand.
There are not many people to make decisions.
"There were no words from Roman Abramovich so far. I spoke to Marina
Granovskaia (Chelsea director) and Petr Cech, and this was very trustful and
very honest and clear. I had the feeling that this structure works for me."
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