Thomas Tuchel has appeared to express concerns over his long-term future at Chelsea while insisting his side won't give up on the Premier League title this season.
The Blues were beaten 1-0 by table-toppers Manchester City on Saturday as a superb Kevin De Bruyne strike left Tuchel's men 13 points adrift of Pep Guardiola 's league leaders.
Liverpool's 3-0 triumph over Brentford on Sunday then compounded matters as the Reds leap-frogged Chelsea into second spot, with a game in hand over their fellow title chasers.
Despite City extending their lead atop the standings following a twelfth Premier League win on the spin, Tuchel refused to admit his side are giving up on their titles hopes just yet.
Speaking ahead of the Blues' Tuesday night clash with Brighton at the Amex Stadium, Tuchel declared: "To not focus on our problem, we have to simply admit that City is in a very strong place with the points they have and have gathered in the last twelve matches.
"They earn what they have and this is first of all important to admit.
"The second thing is we will never give up. Never, never until the race is over. We are in the middle of the race, maybe not anymore, but we are still in the race and we just have to take our place."
Despite Tuchel's adamant stance that Chelsea will fight until the very end, the German appeared less certain over his long-term future at Stamford Bridge.
The 48-year-old has overseen a remarkable improvement at the club since his appointment in January of last year, sealing the club's second ever Champions League crown back in May and securing a top four finish despite taking over the Blues when they were languishing ninth.
A 3-0 aggregate triumph over London rivals Tottenham this month has also meant the former Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain boss guide the club to finals in all three cup competitions he has entered since his appointment.
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Despite boasting such an impressive record since arriving in west London, Tuchel appeared to harbour doubts over his long-term future when the topic was raised at his Monday press conference.
"I think I have a contract until 2024 so let's stay with this and let's stay as long as the contract says," the Chelsea boss revealed. "History tells us it is not that easy but I feel confident I can make it. I do not want to be anywhere else."
"I feel very happy and let's see what is going on. But we both know what we need: results. I am responsible for creating an atmosphere that gives us the results. So the focus goes into the process and not the results."
While his desire to remain with Chelsea was clear for all to see, the German appeared to be well aware of the club's cut-throat approach under the ownership of Roman Abramovich which has seen him become the Blues' 15th manager in the past 18 years.
He added: "Hopefully, there will be many more years to come. But the only thing to influence is to be good in the very moment and this is what we try."
