Cesar Azpilicueta has told his Chelsea team-mates they cannot afford to let their heads drop as the Blues attempt to end their miserable run of form by beating Tottenham on Sunday.
The defeat by Bournemouth on Saturday means Frank Lampard’s side have now lost four of their last five Premier League games and, while they are still fourth in the table, they are just three points clear of Tottenham in fifth.
Chelsea next travel to Spurs and captain Azpilicueta has urged his team-mates to not let spirits drop. If Spurs win, they will leapfrog Chelsea into the Champions League qualification places.
“We have to keep our heads up,” said Azpilicueta. “The Christmas period is always a busy time and we have some important fixtures coming up, which we have to be ready for. We have to make sure we are ready, because there is a big game coming up, a derby against Tottenham next Sunday. Now is the time to think, to see what we didn’t do well and go with everything on Sunday because we need the points.”
Saturday was a frustrating afternoon for Chelsea as they enjoyed plenty of possession at Stamford Bridge but were unable to find a way through a well-organised Bournemouth side.
It has become a problem for the Blues more recently. They struggled to break down Everton at Goodison Park last weekend and also West Ham at the back end of November.
“We have to be more effective,” added the Spaniard. “That is the problem we have had in a few games, in either box we were not good enough, attacking and defending. In moments we didn’t move the ball quickly enough, we didn’t take the chances we had.
“We are facing teams with a defensive set up who are counter-attack teams and sometimes we have conceded from counter-attacks or from set-plays, and in set-plays every team has the same chance.
“We’ve had a couple of bad results at home now and we didn’t find a way to break defences down. We have to find a way to score goals and there are a couple of things that we must improve on.”
