Chelsea: Vinay Menon – The Premier League’s first health coach

“Didier was the first – Chelsea are like one big family and we would sit and eat in the canteen with the players so we naturally struck up a conversation while eating,” says Menon.

“He asked me what I could do for him, I told him we could try it, and he told me to try straight away. That was the moment football opened up to me.

“Then Joe Cole, Frank Lampard and John Terry started coming to me to try him out.

“The medical department was great and made me part of their team, even though I was from a different specialty.”

Menon’s sessions included meditation, sharpening the players’ mental approach and dispelling the negative thoughts that can come with the pressure and scrutiny of the Premier League.

“I was a person without a title, teaching players self-care, how to balance them spiritually and emotionally and ultimately affecting them physically,” says Menon.

“They are human beings and they need a friend to laugh with, to gossip with, and then they will open up.

“You have to be mentally happy in sports and business. It’s the same – the mind is everything.”

Menon has been a constant presence in Chelsea’s backroom staff for 13 years, working under coaches such as Carlo Ancelotti, Rafael Benitez, Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte, and finally Thomas Tuchel.

“I’ve had the opportunity to be part of all the trophies Chelsea have won since 2010,” he says.

“What an experience, it was an incredible space, I miss it so much, honestly.”