Antonio Rudiger insists competition for his Chelsea place will only make him work harder after being dropped from the starting XI.
The 27-year-old was dropped by Frank Lampard for the 3-0 win over Watford on Saturday evening, with Kurt Zouma and Andreas Christensen starting in the middle of the defence.
Rudiger struggled at the start of the season through an injury, however became a regular at centre-back and has started 16 Premier League games.
However, after a poor performance in the defeat at West Ham, Rudiger was replaced and now in a fight to get back into the starting team.
After the clean sheet on Saturday, Lampard is set to keep faith in the pair of Zouma and Christensen.
And Rudiger knows that being out of the team means that he has to work harder to get his place back in the team.
"We have a good mix at the club and it’s not always easy to find that," Rudiger told the Chelsea website.
"We have some experienced guys and of course a lot of young players, who in my opinion have done really well this season.
"Obviously we cannot predict the future, but with this mix of good, talented young guys and some more experienced players then I don’t see why we can’t challenge for trophies. In the future, we have a chance.
"With every year they take a step closer and as the coach has said before, when you are at Chelsea then these are the levels you want to get to and we should be reaching.
"Having competition is a good problem to have. ‘It makes you train better and it makes you play better, because you know there are other people waiting to take your place. You have to be on the top of your game always.
"As a coach, it’s obviously difficult to keep everyone happy and of course we have so many options, so you have to give your all every day."
