Chelsea needs to arrest a worrying run of results and revive its Premier League top-four challenge, manager Enzo Maresca said on Friday ahead of the weekend trip to Aston Villa.
Maresca’s side has slipped to sixth, a point behind fourth-placed Manchester City, after two wins in its last nine games.
“We have to be upset because we are not happy with the results. We are all aware we are in a club where we are not here to survive, but to fight to win titles,” he told reporters.
“They are the same players that for 19 or 20 games were top four, second for the most part of the season.
“For sure, after this moment, they are going to be better players and better professionals.”
Chelsea was beaten 3-0 at Brighton and Hove Albion last week and has not won away in the league since a 4-3 victory at Tottenham Hotspur on Dec. 8.
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Maresca said the target remains a top-four finish.
“I think we spent almost the whole season in the top four and with 13 games to go, the target, for sure, is top four,” he said. “We will try our best to achieve that.
“I’m here to win games — to bring this club to fight for titles. The problem is when you win games, you look humble and when you don’t win games it looks like a lack of ambition.”
Maresca said injuries had contributed to the loss of form with the likes of Nicolas Jackson, Chukwunonso Madueke, Romeo Lavia and Wesley Fofana still ruled out for Saturday’s trip to Villa.
Defender Malo Gusto is available though after recovering from an injury picked up against Brighton.
