To intensify the competition, Alexei Smertin and Geremi both did well on tour, the former in the middle and the latter starting every game wide on the right.Chelsea will now use the Gianfranco Zola tribute match against Real Zaragoza at Stamford Bridge on Sunday as final preparation for their opening Premiership game against the much busier – too busy? – Manchester United. I’m a new manager, I have a lot of new players and we have a different style of play. Claude Makelele remains the best holding player, but Frank Lampard has to play, and Robben made a real impact out wide against Celtic. Joe is a great player with a lot of talent but he has to work every day, every minute. He is not a striker, not a traditional midfield player, he is like a link, so that’s the best position for him.”It seems then, that the young maverick will no longer be wasted out on the left (Scott Parker’s probable fate until Arjen Robben or Damien Duff are fully fit) but nor has he convinced the manager to construct the midfield around him. Mourinho’s words on the subject yesterday were carefully chosen: “I think he has to find himself, or we have to find it together.

In teams like Chelsea, players cannot just wait for many, many, many opportunities. When you have it, just take it, because if you don’t, other good players are in the queue. He was suspended from the Milan match after being sent off against Roma (because Fifa regards this an official tournament) and will miss the start of the domestic season if the Football Association imposes a further ban for violent conduct.One issue that has not been resolved is whether Joe Cole will be anything more than a bit-part player, even for a manager who traditionally favours having a man in Cole’s favourite position just behind two strikers. Adrian Mutu, disappointing last season, is the one striker to have missed out and Mourinho may see the powerfully built Drogba as his best target man, with either Gudjohnsen or Mateja Kezman in support.

Kezman, from PSV Eindhoven, confirmed his reputation as an excellent finisher but one with a wild streak. Paulo Ferreira, the other Porto recruit, can expect to start ahead of the less experienced Glen Johnson, and greater familiarity over the weeks ahead should help the defence tighten up, especially at those set plays.As nine goals in three games here have suggested, scoring should not be a problem. So we need more time to become a real good team.”That team is beginning to take shape. Petr Cech, the 6ft 4in goalkeeper, will put Cudicini under severe pressure for a place, and Ricardo Carvalho from Porto for Marcel Desailly is a progressive swap. But I’m really happy with the game and the tour, the way the players have worked and trained and the evolution I can see in the team. Other than that, he had only positive reflections on the performance and the tour as a whole: “We can’t concede goals like this from corners.