Graham Potter has told his Chelsea players there can be no excuses for failure in 2023 – even as injuries strike at the heart of their squad.
The head coach will be without the sidelined Reece James, Ben Chilwell, N'Golo Kante and Wesley Fofana, among others, as Chelsea begin the new year at Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
Chelsea have lost their last three away games, last losing on four consecutive road trips in January and February 2019 under Maurizio Sarri, so the imperative is to end that dire streak immediately. Potter says he is experiencing his most "challenging" time as a coach.
Second-bottom Forest have not hosted Chelsea at the City Ground since February 1999, and Potter is wary of what he expects to be a fierce welcome by the River Trent.
However, the former Brighton and Hove Albion knows any grumbles about injuries simply will not wash, with Chelsea having an expensively assembled squad that is expected to deliver results.
Potter said: "Our job now is to try and get as many people back as we can. It's been a real tough period, as challenging as it's been I would say, in my time as a coach, but we're Chelsea and people don't want to hear those reasons, excuses.
"You've got to get on with it. And we've got to try your best to find the answers."
Forest were well beaten by Manchester United on Tuesday, going down 3-0 at Old Trafford, but they scored a home win against Liverpool in October, with Jurgen Klopp's team guilty of missing a host of chances that day.
Potter said: "Forest got a fantastic result against Liverpool. I have huge respect for Steve Cooper and the job that he's done there.
"He's tremendous, a fantastic coach. So they'll be ready, the atmosphere will be hostile. They're back in the Premier League for the first year for a long, long time.
"So every game, especially Chelsea coming to town, is a big game for them. So they'll be motivated, and they'll have the quality and they'll be fighting for the points. So we have to be ready."
Mateo Kovacic and Hakim Ziyech were absent as Chelsea beat Bournemouth 2-0 on Tuesday, but both have since returned from World Cup duty.
Chelsea have beaten Forest in their last seven meetings, the last of which was a 2-0 FA Cup third-round win in January 2020, and the Blues have only been beaten once in their last 11 away league games against promoted teams (W8 D2).
These two sides have made highly contrasting starts to recent calendar years, with Forest winning their opening league game in each of the past four years, albeit in the Championship each time.
Chelsea, in sharp contrast, have not mustered a win from their first league game in any of the last six calendar years (D4 L2), and last endured a longer bleak run in year-opening league games from 1929 to 1938, when they had four draws and six losses in a 10-game span.
Chelsea's 2022 included a disruptive change of ownership as the club passed out of Roman Abramovich's hands and into the control of Todd Boehly.
Potter then replaced former head coach Thomas Tuchel in September, and there are hopes a new year will bring stability as well as success.
"We want to keep improving. There's a simple answer," Potter said, when asked for his new year wishes for the team.
"We've had a challenging [time], some ups and some downs in terms of the previous year, which is normal, I think, in any football club, but we want to try and stabilise, and we want to try and improve and make our supporters happy.
"We know that before the break, the last few weeks, it wasn't nice for us. Results suffered and performances weren't where we'd like them to be. So we have to do better than that."
Everyone wants to beat Leverkusen, says Alonso ahead of Frankfurt clash
Bayer Leverkusen continue to edge towards a remarkable unbeaten season and Xabi Alonso acknowledged every club wants to put that run to an end.
The newly-crowned Bundesliga champions moved a step closer to a treble after beating Roma 2-0 away in their Europa League semi-final first leg on Thursday.
Alonso's side have also reached the DFB-Pokal final against Kaiserslautern as their extraordinary 47-game unbeaten run continues across all competitions.
Leverkusen, who ended Bayern Munich's 11-year stranglehold on the Bundesliga title to secure their first trophy since 1993, travel to sixth-placed Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday.
"We want to stay unbeaten and we know every week it gets tougher. Everyone wants to beat us," Alonso told reporters.
"It hasn't been easy in Frankfurt in recent years, they've always a tough opponent with a flexible system of play. We don't have much time to prepare."
The 42-year-old Spaniard will be watching the Frankfurt game from the stands after receiving his fourth yellow card of the season during his side's 2-2 home draw with Stuttgart last week.
"You can see the game better from the stands and I can communicate with the bench," he said.
"I will miss the direct contact with the team during the game but the players are intelligent enough to decide situations individually on the pitch."
Pochettino laments 'stupid rumours' over future as Chelsea speculation persists
Mauricio Pochettino blasted "stupid rumours" as speculation continues over his future at Chelsea.
Pochettino oversaw a 2-0 win over former employers Tottenham on Thursday, becoming the first manager to complete a Premier League double after previously managing them in the competition.
Yet a longer-term view on the plans under Pochettino remain unclear, with reports linking Julian Nagelsmann, Hansi Flick and Roberto De Zerbi to Stamford Bridge should the Chelsea manager be moved on.
That comes after another heavy-spending season under the Todd Boehly-led ownership at Chelsea, who splashed once more on the likes of Moises Caicedo, Romeo Lavia and Christopher Nkunku.
Cole Palmer, Axel Disasi and Nicolas Jackson were among the other arrivals amid another chaotic transfer window in west London, with Pochettino battling injury issues and managing a large squad.
Whether Chelsea pull the trigger for another manager may depend on how the Blues finish the season, with Pochettino's side eighth but just three points behind sixth-placed Manchester United.
A place in Europe could be the decisive factor, though Pochettino vented his frustration at the situation in an honest assessment of the media reports questioning his job safety.
"I wanted to say that it is enough with this type of rumours, that if I have one year more [under] contract here and no one says nothing [to me], [I] suppose I'm going to be here," Pochettino said.
"Only if then, the season finishes and someone says to me 'ciao'... Because we don't know at the moment.
"I suppose that I have one more year contract and that I am going to be here. Enough about the stupid rumours.
"You need to ask the club if they want me to keep going or not, not to write things that have no sense."
Pochettino has not been distracted by those rumours, though, with Chelsea winning eight of their last 10 home Premier League games (D1 L1), after managing just one win from the 14 before that (D7 L6).
The Blues will hope to continue that imperious run of form when they host London rivals West Ham on Sunday at Stamford Bridge.
Mark Clattenburg leaves consultancy role with Nottingham Forest
Mark Clattenburg has resigned from his role as a refereeing consultant with Nottingham Forest, saying his presence had become a "hindrance" to the club.
Retired Premier League referee Clattenburg – who oversaw the 2016 Champions League final and the showpiece game at Euro 2016 – began the role in February.
The appointment was roundly criticised but Forest – who have seen a number of debatable decisions go against them this season – said it would aid their understanding of the decision-making process and improve dialogue with refereeing body Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL).
However, Clattenburg has continued to attract criticism for taking on the role, which intensified when Forest reacted to a 2-0 Premier League defeat at Everton by accusing Stuart Attwell – who was on VAR duty – of being a fan of relegation rivals Luton Town.
That came after Forest had seen three penalty appeals knocked back at Goodison Park, and Clattenburg avoided condemning Forest's statement in the aftermath of the controversy.
On Friday, Forest released a statement from Clattenburg, who defended his decision to take the job but acknowledged it had created unforeseen difficulties.
Clattenburg said: "It is now clear that the existence and performance of these consultancy services has caused unintended friction between Nottingham Forest and other participants, to the extent that it has become more of a hindrance than help.
"It has also led to the unmerited targeting of me, personally, by certain participants and pundits.
"Such reactions and outcomes were not expected and are regrettable, as it is my sincere belief that there is a place for and value in such a role in the modern game."
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