Frank Lampard has pleaded with the Chelsea board to be active in the final days of the transfer window, showing his frustration following the FA Cup victory against Hull City.
The Blues secured their spot in the fifth round of the competition with a 2-1 win against the Championship promotion hopefuls but there were elements about the performance that need to be improved upon.
Following a sequence of difficult results, including defeat to Newcastle United and the draw against Arsenal, the need for improvement in the transfer market has been made clear.
Lampard was unable to sign players upon his arrival last summer due to the FIFA-imposed transfer ban but those restrictions were raised for the January transfer window.
However, with less than a week before the market closes, he is still yet to secure his first signing at Stamford Bridge and showed his frustration after the FA Cup match.
"There's no movement to speak of now. We got a punishment in the summer, for right or wrong, where we couldn't bring in players and a punishment is meant to hurt you and we lost certainly one of the biggest players in our history, one of the most effective and dominant players in terms of what he has done for the club in the past six or seven years, so that's the situation," he told BT Sport.
"My job, I suppose, the first part is work every day on the training ground with the players, can we get better, and to drive that. Then the other part is driving forward as a club to try and bring in players.
"We lost part of that as a club last summer. Now, we need to for the short-term, to push for the top-four. It's quite clear, I have a strong feeling about where we can improve personnel wise to take us forward, so for me it's clear.
"I don't want to get caught up too much in the actual money of it, that's not my job and it takes it too far, but what I have to do is be honest and truthful when I speak for myself, for the club, as the manager of the club.
"People look at me and say 'what are you doing with those players on the pitch and how are you coaching them?' Great, I accept that, whether it's criticism or whether it's praise, but also, where are we going with the club?
"Recruitment, when you've missed a window is of course important and for the short-term for us, it feels important now, so that's something we are working on and we have to get it right."
