Maurizio Sarri has relaxed his Chelsea predecessor Antonio Conte’s rules on diet and nutrition as well as the stipulation that players had to stay together in a hotel the night before home games, hoping to give them greater freedom as he whittles his squad down to a more manageable size.

The new Chelsea manager has abandoned the practice of the squad staying together at the Chelsea Harbour hotel on nights before they have an evening game at Stamford Bridge the following day, a measure that was introduced by Conte and was unpopular with many of the players. They are now free to stay at home and join up with their team-mates on matchday instead.

Sarri has also permitted a wider choice of food in the training ground canteen and also in hotels when they are away from home to try to create a better atmosphere than that which existed in the previous ten months.

Conte was very strict on nutrition, with relatively little choice for the players, and while Sarri also feels that there are gains in that area for any coach, his priority is to get the squad in the right frame of mind.

The new manager recognises that there will be difficult decisions made and with such a big squad there will be some left on the periphery but has tried to make it as relaxed as possible for his players as they approach another major stylistic change.