Cesc Fabregas tells Chelsea what they must do to compete for the Premier League title next season
Cesc Fabregas is confident that Chelsea can bounce back next season if they hire the right manager. The midfielder recalled his time at the club when they were in a similar situation in 2015 but won the title a year later under Antonio Conte.
The Blues have struggled this season and are sitting 12th in the Premier League table. They have also been knocked out of all cup competitions and will not play in Europe next season.
Speaking on Sky Sports, Fabregas claimed that it was not all gloomy for the Blues. He believes the right manager can turn things around quickly as the squad is talented. He said:
"Six years ago we had a really bad season with Chèlsea. Jose Mourinho left, Guus Hiddink came. He started to play younger players; Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Andreas Christensen, Tammy Abraham to give them experience for next year. I remember in April, they signed Antonio Conte."
He continued:
"He came to the training ground, spoke to us individually, planned what he wanted to do with us to start fresh and we won the Premier League against Guardiola, Klopp, Mourinho. It's not impossible. This happened six years ago, I lived it. If you bring someone in with experience, character, with clear ideas and work hard."
The Blues are reportedly in talks with Mauricio Pochettino and will likely appoint him in the coming days.
Frank Lampard confident Chelsea can turn things around
Caretaker manager Frank Lampard is confident that he can still motivate the Chelsea players and lead them to a few wins in the remaining five matches left. He was talking to the media after the loss to Arsenal when he said:
"I motivate them, and I do my job. I understand that the role of an interim as such, especially when there is no clear goal in position, makes it difficult. In my short time here, and the more I'm here in the short period I'm becoming more practical about it. The players that do show that they train well, they have their motivation. It's not always the shouters, it can be the quiet ones that have the motivation, will be the ones that continue to try and get improvement in this five games until the end of the season."
Chelsea can still be sucked into a relegation scrap but will want to avoid the headache with a win or two.