Chelsea win WSL: Secrets of Emma Hayes' title successes as Blues claim fourth in row

"You've got to pay me a lot of money to tell you!"

Chelsea manager Emma Hayes was giving nothing away when she was asked to reveal the secrets of their success.

A fourth Women's Super League title in a row was secured on Saturday with a 3-0 win at Reading in the final game of the season. It completed a league and FA Cup Double, and marked Hayes' 14th major trophy since her arrival at the club in 2012.

Chelsea's dominance of English women's football has not wavered despite growing investment and competition from their challengers.

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"Do you think I'm going to give away the crown jewels?" Hayes joked on Sky Sports earlier this month.

"These are the secrets to our success, so I'm not going to spill it on national TV."

You cannot blame Hayes for keeping her cards close to her chest, because whatever it is, it is working.

Chelsea consistently compete for every trophy - they also reached the Champions League semi-finals and lost in the League Cup final this year.

"I know the work that has gone on behind the scenes to get the team to where it is," said Hayes after their victory over title rivals Arsenal last weekend.

"I just look on the pitch and all I see is the years of work in the background. The meetings, the analysis, the disagreements, the good times and the moments you're sick of looking at each other.

"It's all of those things, and when they come off this team has a habit of peaking when it matters."

Attention to detail

That is perhaps Chelsea's greatest strength under Hayes - they always turn up when it matters at the business end of the season.

As the effects of a gruelling schedule begin to take their toll on teams around them, Chelsea go up another gear.

Former Blues defender Claire Rafferty, who played under Hayes between 2012 and 2016, said it was the "commitment to small details", such as employing a range of experts in her backroom staff, which helped give them the edge over their rivals.

"At one stage there was more staff than players," Rafferty told BBC Sport.

"It was things like getting a sleep coach in to add to the physios, medical staff and massage therapist - making sure the girls had the right beds to sleep in.

"We had one-to-one nutrition help, then we looked at hormone supplements when you were on your period and monitoring training loads.

"The biggest thing for me was that [Hayes] wasn't afraid to say: 'I'm not an expert in this.' We even had someone come in to almost lead the other staff so she could focus on managing the players."

'It was a slow burner but it has accelerated'

Claire Rafferty (on the right holding the trophy) was part of the squad which won the WSL title in 2018 under Emma Hayes

The impact these changes would have on Chelsea's success was not realised immediately.

Rafferty says she found some of it a chore at the time. "We had to do something else and sit in another meeting," she said.

"We weren't used to it. We were maybe a little ungrateful at the time when I think about it, and I don't like to admit that.

"You were in a bubble and just wanted to play football. There is now an appreciation for the game as a whole and that it's not just the stuff on the pitch. It's how you prepare your body, protect your body and your mind as well."

When Chelsea started winning, the players' outlook changed. It was no longer a chore but a necessary routine. There was an acceptance that winning trophies required a daily, driven culture.

"I think Emma was probably always aware [of what impact it would have]," said Rafferty.

"She would go into different clubs around the world and see what they were doing. She would learn from others. It had to be a slow process because of the money and investment it took to get there.

"She always said: 'If you're winning, I can ask for more money.' I remember it clearly. She would say: 'You need to win so I can feed you and have a leg to stand on.'

"It was a slow burner but it has accelerated. When we first got serious about it, it was maybe around 2015 when we started winning."

'Nobody is safe in that team'

Lauren James (centre left) and Kadeisha Buchanan (centre right) both joined the club in the past two years

Winning trophies is now an expectation at Chelsea.

Their hoarding of domestic silverware has been so relentless that the prospect of them failing to win something during a season is almost unthinkable.

So how have Chelsea been able to sustain their trophy hunt and fend off improving challengers?

"As the competition around Chelsea grows, you can never stand still. You bring in players with a fresh desire to win," said Rafferty.

"You don't get bored of winning but you have to keep a team fresh. Hayes has been recruiting players who don't get complacent."

In 2020, Chelsea broke the world transfer record to sign Denmark forward Pernille Harder. A year later they signed Manchester United's teenage sensation Lauren James.

Last year they brought in five-time Champions League winner Kadeisha Buchanan from Lyon.

Adding quality and strengthening Chelsea's squad depth has allowed Hayes to rotate effectively and regularly in four competitions this season.

"Nobody is safe in that team. You have to fight your way into it and perform. Training is a big platform for that," said Rafferty.

"I remember being so disappointed at losing in training because the environment breeds that mentality. There's always competition.

"What Hayes wants is not just about the player on the pitch, but how they deal with pressure and how they react when they haven't played four games in a row because somebody else is performing.

"It's the mentality of the players - they are never settled. They are always looking over their shoulders knowing someone is chasing them."

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