Chelsea manager, Mauricio Pochettino, has said it is “a problem” if he has to motivate his players for the remainder of the season.
The Blues’ lost their last chance for silverware this season in their late defeat by Manchester City in the FA Cup on Saturday and could not bounce back in their midweek Premier League match against Arsenal, where they were thumped 5-0 at the Emirates.
They still have the opportunity to qualify for European competition, however, sitting six points off Newcastle United in seventh and seven points off Manchester United in sixth.
The west London club have two games in hand on both Newcastle and Manchester United.
“We think that we are responsible to motivate players, why? It’s difficult to accept. If you play for Chelsea that motivation is there, even if you play in a friendly,” Pochettino said.
“If you don’t have motivation it is difficult. If you ask me that we need to motivate players for the next game, then we have a problem.
“I don’t believe that is the problem – the problem is to have the capacity to perform. We can’t give them the excuses not to perform, but at the same time we are people, we are not a machine and with some circumstances you lose the reference of those things a little bit.”
