Pochettino’s Brutal Chelsea Fitness Test

Mauricio Pochettino is set to sign a three-year deal with Chelsea this week, and while the club’s supporters are excited by the prospect of the former Tottenham boss taking over, the players may be less enthused by the fitness drills he is set to put them through. Pochettino is renowned for his high-press tactics and demands high fitness levels from his teams, which he achieves through his famed ‘Gacon test’. This gruelling intermittent shuttle exercise sees players run for 45 seconds before a 15-second break, with the distance of each run increasing each time. The Argentine explained the test in his 2017 book, saying: ‘To start with, the players have 45 seconds to cover 150 metres, with 15 seconds to rest. In each subsequent 45-second rep, they have to run 6.25 metres further, with the intensity steadily increasing.’ Former Southampton captain Rickie Lambert admitted that the players hated the Gacon Test and asked Pochettino to cut them some slack, but the Argentine was not interested. His teams at both Southampton and Tottenham were known for their energy and fitness levels, with players such as Danny Rose, Kyle Walker and Luke Shaw excelling under his tutelage.