Graham Potter delivered an honest dressing room message to the Chelsea players after their defeat to Arsenal ahead of their Manchester City Carabao Cup tie.
The Blues put in a poor display at the weekend against their London rivals, losing 1-0 at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League.
Chelsea offered very little and Arsenal were the deserved winners of the game, Gabriel Magalhaes scored the only goal after a defensive lapse from the hosts.
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The result saw the Gunners move back to the top of the table, meanwhile the west London outfit slipped to seventh place.
Despite climbing into the top four when Potter was still on his unbeaten run as head coach, things have begun to fall out of place.
In their last four games in the league, Chelsea are winless, picking up just two points from a possible 12.
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Draws against Brentford and Manchester United started the decline, and then the Blues were embarrassed at Brighton.
It was a heavy 4-1 loss as Potter took on his former side for the first time since leaving in September.
They then continued their poor form with the loss against Mikel Arteta’s men.
With just two games remaining before the World Cup in Qatar, it is important Chelsea manage to pick up some positive results.
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After their loss at the weekend, drastic improvements are required should they want to get anything from the next two matches.
Trevoh Chalobah has been a consistent figure in the side as of late, stepping up to fill in for the likes of Wesley Fofana and Kalidou Koulibaly.
His form has been very impressive and has earned him more opportunities, but he was disappointed with the performance at the weekend.
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“The manager said to us in the dressing room afterwards that we’ve got to pick our heads up and we can’t dwell on this result,” Chalobah told the official Chelsea website on what Potter’s message was to the squad.
He added: “We’ve got two big games now before the World Cup break and it’s really important we head into the break in a positive frame of mind.
“The Newcastle game in the Premier League next weekend is really important for us. It’s the final fixture before the World Cup break and we need to ensure we’re in a good position.”
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Chalobah, 23, is in contention for a potential place in England’s World Cup squad, after he was included on the 55-man shortlist for the tournament.
He will be hoping to impress further in these next two games and pick up some good results in preparation should he be selected.
For Potter, it is very important that the Blues do perform and put up a strong fight against both Manchester City and Newcastle.
The Chelsea head coach is determined to put the defeat to Arsenal behind them as they look to try and advance to the next round of the Carabao Cup against Pep Guardiola’s men.
Potter concluded ahead of the game: "We have to go to Man City and be competitive because they will be, to win the game, be as strong as we can.
“We will do our best, prepare the team. We have to go to try to win the game."
Topics: Graham Potter, Chelsea, Manchester City, Trevoh Chalobah, Football
Sam Collins