Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has given his honest verdict on the Blues’ poor start to the season and told his side to toughen up as they prepare to face West Ham.
Tuchel’s side fell to a 2-1 defeat at Southampton on Tuesday night, their second loss of the season after losing 3-0 to Leeds United in the previous away match.
This means that the Blues sit on seven points in the opening in the first five matches, eight points behind current league leaders Arsenal.
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Tuchel was clearly furious with his side after the match, with Raheem Sterling opening the scoring on the 23rd minute before Southampton scored two goals to put them ahead at the break.
The Saints held onto this lead through to the end of the match as Chelsea came away from the south coast empty handed.
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Since then, Wesley Fofana, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyand and Denis Zakaria joined the club as Tuchel added reinforcements to his side.
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The Blues will now be looking to get back to winning ways on home turf when they face West Ham on Saturday.
Speaking ahead of the match, Tuchel sent a message to his team as he delivered his verdict on their recent form.
He said: “We need to (toughen up). All of us.
“We will use the end of the transfer period, we will use the energy and stability that gives you when you know which is the group, the players in the squad, who fights for what. We will use this stability we need to grow, build the group and influence each other in a positive way. We will use this momentum.
“We could see it yesterday and today on the pitch. Was not a lot of training, or intense training because of the two matches in a week. I saw a reaction yesterday, today we have a good session.
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"The cards are on the table. I need to choose a team for tomorrow. From there we go.”
The German believes that the closure of the transfer window can now be used to push on and allow his side to gain momentum and make up for the dropped points at the start of the season.
“We will use it as a new start to kick start the season,” he continued. “It is needed.
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“We have our reasons why this is, we need to leave it behind us and not think so much about what is going wrong.
“We have the chance to start the season new tomorrow, home game with the squad we have and players that are available. I have the feeling everybody is ready to show up.”
Tuchel is aware of the tough task ahead of his side, however, as he is expecting a tough match against the Hammers.
When asked about what he expects from the match, the German admitted: "They are what they are, a very physical team. I have the feeling they are a strong group with a good team spirit, a strong group together with the manager. They know what they are.
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"They have periods where they can create huge moments, momentums within minutes. They have periods where they dig in and defend deep with a lot of discipline. Always ready to hurt you on counter attacks with speed and physicality. Then a lot of crosses with Soucek arriving in the box for headers with set pieces where they are strong and physical. They struggled a little bit getting results and growing into the season. They had also some late signings, which injected a lot of quality and personality. Will be a tough derby.
Chelsea face the Hammers at 3pm (UK) on Saturday afternoon before preparing to face Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia on Tuesday.
Topics: Chelsea, West Ham United, Football, Premier League, Thomas Tuchel
Nick Emms