Levi Colwill has stated that “Chelsea is for winners only” with the defender and his teammates keen to prove it in the Club World Cup. According to the England defender, every new recruit is reminded of Chelsea’s commitment to maintaining its winning tradition.
The club experienced significant success during the Roman Abramovich era, and now under co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali, they are eager to replicate it. Despite spending more than £1billion on new players and undergoing considerable changes, Colwill insists the ambition remains unchanged, a message conveyed to every new signing.
Colwill, 22, who joined the club at nine and has witnessed numerous title victories and European Cups, said: “We all know how big this club is and how the culture of the club has always been to win. We’re just trying to reinforce that to the young boys, to the boys coming in, that this club is for winners only.
“That’s what we all need to do and strive towards. That’s what we want to do together. Anyone that comes to Chelsea knows the history of the club. They know they are coming here to only win. We’ve got a great team and everyone’s on the same wavelength to try and win.”
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Now one of the more seasoned players, Colwill says that fellow teammates Tosin Adarabioyo, Reece James, Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo and Marc Cucurella also echo this sentiment whenever a young player steps up or a new signing joins, reports the Mirror.
“You’ve got Tos, you’ve got Reece, you’ve got Enzo, you’ve got Moi, you’ve got Cucu, you’ve got Cole Palmer in there,” Colwill said. “Who am I forgetting? There would probably be a few more but off the top of my head, that’s who I’d say.
“But the fans are the main thing. We feel their energy when we are playing. We know what they want to do and they want to win. They will never let us forget that. They are going to push us to try and win things for them, for the club and they are the biggest thing that can remind us of where this club once was.”
As Chelsea gear up for their Club World Cup quarter-final clash against Palmeiras in Philadelphia, Colwill has expressed confidence despite the team not being widely tipped as favourites. He said: “We’re all very confident of how good we can be as a team. We try to push it every day in training, motivating each other, trying to help us improve as team. We’ve just got to go and show that on the pitch every day. We know how good we are, but we’ve got to believe it.”
In a candid reflection on his performance, Colwill admitted to occasional laziness and recognised the need to eliminate it from his game. When asked what he needs to work on, he added: “What do you think you need to work on?
“There’s a lot I would say. We could be here for ages, to be honest. Of course, I know I am nowhere near where I would like to be in the future. There are so many areas of my game that aren’t good enough. I think I’ve seen that this season. Of course, defending one versus one has been tough this season but I think I’ve proved that I’m getting a bit better towards the end.
“And just being on the ball. I’m good at times when I’m trying to make passes and there are other times where I’ve been a bit lazy and you can tell. I think that can happen naturally when you are playing a game. You might think a pass is an easy pass, you can take your mind off it. That’s what I mean when I say ‘laziness’. It can easily happen in games.
“You take your mind off something for half a second and that can make a big, big difference in the Premier League and tournaments like this where you are playing against the best players all the time. Like I said, there are so many things I need to improve and get better at, to finalise my game and make myself better to help my team.”
