Thomas Tuchel has told his players they won’t be allowed any days off in the near future as Chelsea look to resolve their current problems.
Chelsea suffered their third straight away defeat in all competitions, the first time under Tuchel since his appointment, after a 1-0 loss to Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League on Tuesday evening.
Despite a positive start in Croatia, they were punished by the hosts who broke on the counter-attack which saw Mislav Orsic dink the ball past Kepa Arrizabalaga in the 13th minute to seal all three points for Dinamo Zagreb in the Group E opener.
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Tuchel was left angry at full-time and couldn’t believe what he saw from his side, who showed plenty of cracks and signs of major improvement needed.
“Of course, I'm angry at myself, I'm angry about our performance, this is a huge under-performance from all of us,” admitted the Chelsea boss after the game.
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“It's not precise enough, it's not clinical enough, it's not aggressive enough on the ball, it's not determined enough, it's not good enough individually, it's not good enough as a team.”
He added: “We are clearly not where we need to be. It’s on me, on us, we need to find solutions. At the moment everything is missing.”
The games are coming thick and fast for Chelsea and there is no time for the Blues to feel sorry for themselves despite their decline in confidence and mood.
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A west London derby awaits Chelsea on Saturday against Fulham but Tuchel will not be allowing his players any time off in the coming weeks as they look to turn their form around and get their season back on track.
Tuchel continued: “There is no day off. There is no day off in the planning and there cannot be a day off in the moment.”
It’s back to the training ground and Cobham for Chelsea to analyse where it’s going wrong and how they can work on the areas that need addressing.
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Tuchel knows his side are under-performing and that he is responsible for improving his players’ performances, and in turn the results.
"This is not who we are, this is not what we want. Individually it’s not enough and as a team it’s not enough,” said the 48-year-old.
“I’m part of this team, so it’s clearly not enough for a Chelsea team.
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"It’s a clear under-performance. I’m there to make them over-perform, so it’s on me and I take the responsibility. This is not what we want, this is not who we are. Individually and as a team simply not good enough."
Topics: Thomas Tuchel, Chelsea, Champions League, Football
Matthew Debono