There have been no shortage of issues that have seen Chelsea confined to the bottom half of the Premier League table and without any success to speak of this term. Understandably, people will point to the mass of changes behind the scenes and an accelerated set of transfers leading to a bloated squad fighting for a spot on the pitch.
Ultimately performances have not been good enough across the season. More recently however, since his arrival as caretaker manager, Frank Lampard has had a constant refrain. The Blues boss has questioned the group's ability to contest a match physically across 90 minutes.
His assessment has appeared to split the responsibility between players and the club, and it is something the 44-year-old has hoped to work on during his brief stint in charge.
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Following defeat to Brighton, he said: "A yard short, a tackle short, a fighting duel moment short and when that's not right you're not going to win games. You have to have the capacity to do that as well as the desire and at the minute we're falling short on that and need to turn it around quickly."
He later added: "When we do get the chance to work, I think the team needs some physical work. I think that’s important for us because at this level you have to be right on the limit and we are not on the limit right now. I think that can be a capacity thing with the players for whatever reason. It doesn’t matter how we got there but it needs to be addressed now."
There appears to have not been too much improvement in that however, with Lampard reflecting following defeat to Arsenal about his side's difficult first half and where the team failed. Having spent a number of weeks in the job, it appears the Chelsea legend had conceded that this is an issue that can only be solved over the longer term.
He said: "I think it's a mental desire, to get up to people. It also starts with the capacity to be able to do it. If you haven't been conditioning and doing that and doing that and you don't do it on Wednesday, don't do it on Thursday, you won't do it on Saturday or whatever day you want to talk about. When those things become you as a group, they don't change overnight and we're seeing that at the moment."
With just three matches remaining of the season, Chelsea will soon have the opportunity to action a plan that can truly solve the issues. Mauricio Pochettino is expected to become Chelsea boss and his system demands rigorous fitness to be successful and his Tottenham and Southampton teams have been among sides that cover the most ground in the Premier League.
The 51-year-old coach will have taken stock of any deficiency and will surely implement a plan for pre-season to get who remains in the squad up to speed. By all accounts, it will certainly test players' desire to perform.
Speaking to football.london in February 2021, Tanguy Ndombele discussed the testing nature of a Mauricio Pochettino pre-season. The 26-year-old midfielder was left thinking of a return to France just weeks into his arrival at Tottenham.
"It was incredibly tough. I remember that I was even calling home to my friends in France saying I want to come back," he admitted.
"It was so, so tough, but perhaps it was what I needed. I needed to get used to that sort of work, to that sort of training and over time to acclimatise to it."
Having reached the point of not having the capacity to compete as a group, Pochettino will be required to turn that around in time for next term. Pre-season will be testing for the group and informative of the characters the former PSG coach will want to keep around.
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