On August 5 when Chelsea head to Everton, Thomas Tuchel will accept no excuses from his players.
Nothing about sanctions, the departure of Roman Abramovich and no bleating about having to play catch-up in the transfer market.
With Liverpool and Manchester City still formidable, Tottenham resurgent under Antonio Conte and Arsenal building steadily under Mikel Arteta, Tuchel knows his Blues stars will have to hit the ground running this season. So he has served notice now that defeat is not an option at Goodison Park.
