Thomas Tuchel has told his out-of-favour Chelsea players they need to "put their ego aside" and "do everything to be ready" when called upon.
With a pool of talent in his attacking ranks, Tuchel has opted to stick with the same front three for his last two games - going for a trio of Kai Havertz, Christian Pulisic and Mason Mount.
That means big-money summer signings Timo Werner and Hakim Ziyech - along with Tammy Abraham, Olivier Giroud and Callum Hudson Odoi - have had to settle for spots on the substitutes' bench.
But Chelsea are still competing on three fronts as the 2020/21 campaign draws to a close, with an FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City on Saturday, a Champions League last-four clash with Real Madrid to come, and aiming to seal fourth place or above in the Premier League.
And Tuchel, who has impressed since replacing club legend Frank Lampard, wants all of his players to be ready.
"It's very important in these moments that the guys who lack minutes, self-confidence, and maybe not super happy with their personal situation, put their ego aside and do everything to be ready," he said.
"That is what this club is about. We have no promises to make, no gifts to give. Everybody has to fight hard for their place. If they are in the team, they have to fight to stay there. Once you get any minutes, you fight hard to make the coach make a change.
"This is the life for a player at Chelsea. It's big fun and you have to embrace the situation even if it's a bit harder for some players.
"We try to push them, try to convince them and influence them in a positive way. We have a tight schedule and we can't drop one percent."
With time on the training ground limited this season due to the packed nature of the fixture schedule amid the Covid-19 pandemic, Tuchel has told his fringe players to make the most of any minutes they get on the pitch.
"We picked the same offensive guys against Crystal Palace and the second leg Porto. So the other guys need to fight for their places and they are doing this," he said.
"There isn't much training time between the games with the schedule we have. So in the minutes you have, you need to use.
"As you can imagine, if you have good results, momentum, qualify for semi-finals, in terms of the atmosphere and the behaviour in the dressing room we are in a good moment."
