Mauricio Pochettino admitted his Chelsea players are falling well short of the targets set for them in pre-season as they seek respite from their sporadic Premier League form at home to Crystal Palace on Wednesday.
Results at Stamford Bridge have been the only bright spot in recent weeks with three straight wins in west London during December, meanwhile fortunes on the road have taken an alarming downturn.
Defeat against Wolves at Molineux on Christmas Eve was their fourth away loss on the spin following reverses at Newcastle, Manchester United and Everton, and has left the team facing the likely prospect of failing to qualify for Europe for a second season.
A Carabao Cup semi-final against Championship side Middlesborough in January could open the door to a possible route into the Europa Conference League, but a current league placing of 10th sees them trailing the top four by 14 points.
Pochettino admitted it is not what he anticipated approaching the midway point of his first Chelsea campaign.
“We’re so far away (from the target),” said the Blues boss. “Our target was to be on the top, even if no one believed us. But in the circumstance, we are fighting for different things.
“We are Chelsea, because our history demands us to be at the top. At the moment, being realistic, we need to increase the way that we compete if we want to win more games.
“We need to compete better than (against Wolves). I think the performance from the beginning of the season has not been bad. We can say it’s very good. But in terms of competing, we are in the bottom. That’s why we are not in a better position in the table.
“In football you need to have the knowledge, the quality, the set-up. But at some point in football in 90 minutes, you need to compete. You need to show in the way you play football. We need to improve there, and that’s about having all the players (fit), spending time with them together.
“We need to finish well, winning the (Palace) game, then to go to Luton (on December 30) and then start the new year with different feelings.”
Pochettino confirmed that Enzo Fernandez will miss the meeting with Roy Hodgson’s side having sat out the loss at Molineux.
Moises Caicedo is likely to return after illness prevented him traveling to Wolves, though Lesley Ugochukwu has a hamstring injury that forced him off on Sunday.
It means Chelsea’s injury woes show no sign of abating.
“The frustration is there, the disappointment,” said Pochettino. “The medical staff are working so hard to anticipate and try to avoid these types of problems.”
Arsenal handed another injury blow as White ruled out for 'months'
Mikel Arteta confirmed that Arsenal defender Ben White is facing "months" on the sidelines after sustaining a knee injury.
White had been dealing with several issues all season and has missed five games in all competitions for the Gunners already this term.
After struggling through until the November international break, the decision was taken for him to undergo surgery in order to finally address the ongoing problems.
It serves as a bitter blow for Arteta, with only Thomas Parety (13) making more interceptions than White (11) for Arsenal in the Premier League this campaign.
Though Arteta confirmed that the surgery was successful, White is set for a lengthy spell out of the team.
"It has been different kinds of struggles. It has never been the same thing, but we had to make a decision. He has not improved over the last few weeks, unfortunately," said Arteta.
"We know that Ben is going to push every boundary, but it got to the point where we have to protect the player and we decided to do the surgery.
"He agreed with that and it is going to keep him out for a few months."
Asked for a specific time frame, Arteta added: "We have to see how he reacts post-surgery. I don't expect it to be half a year, but I cannot tell you exactly."
It offers a concern for Arteta in the full-back area, with the Spaniard also revealing on Friday that Takehiro Tomiyasu is "going to be out as well for a bit".
There was, however, some positive injury news for the Gunners ahead of welcoming Nottingham Forest to the Emirates on Saturday.
After not featuring for England during the international break, Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice are expected to be fit to feature against Nuno Espirito Santo's side.
Leandro Trossard will also be available for Arteta despite picking up a hamstring injury during the international break with Belgium.
Defender Riccardo Calafiori is also in contention for Saturday's game after a month out with a knee problem.
Conte hopes for Ranieri's success at Roma after Napoli clash
Antonio Conte hopes that everything will go well for Claudio Ranieri after he came out of retirement to take charge of Roma, but only after their Serie A clash this weekend.
Ranieri was tempted back into management by a return to where he began as a player. His third spell at Roma comes after the club sacked two coaches already this season and with the team 12th in the standings.
A trip to leaders Napoli is Ranieri's first task, and Conte is looking forward to meeting up with the 73-year-old.
"I am pleased to see Claudio, I have great esteem for him and there is also friendship," Conte told reporters ahead of Sunday's game.
"I am happy with the chance he has been given. It will be a tough game, for us and for them. Last year, Roma finished ahead of Napoli, they are in the Europa League and had a good transfer window.
"They are not performing according to expectations and I hope for Claudio that everything starts to work after Sunday's game."
The arrival of Ranieri in place of Ivan Juric brings with it not just the danger of the 'new manager bounce' but also upsets Conte's plans for the game.
"When a team changes coach there is an important input on a nervous level," Conte said.
"They are at the third change on the bench. It's inevitable that, if Juric had remained, we knew what kind of team we were going to face.
"Now it's an enigma, we don't have much information nor do we know how they will deal with us. So let's think about ourselves, there is a desire and enthusiasm to continue this path."
After a streak of 21 consecutive home wins in Serie A, Conte lost his last home league match (0-3 against Atalanta). Only once in his career has he recorded two consecutive home defeats in the competition: in November 2009, when he was in charge of Atalanta (against Juventus and Roma).
Napoli are top of the table, but Conte knows it is still early, and with just two points separating the top six clubs, which includes the likes of Atalanta, Fiorentina and Lazio, for now, it is a different title race than usual.
"Only 12 games have passed and there are many teams within very few points," he said.
"We are doing well, but so are the others. There isn't one team which has distanced the others. Perhaps there is a little amazement in seeing some teams in those positions in the standings."
Martino resigns as Inter Miami coach after early playoff exit
Gerardo Martino has resigned as Inter Miami's head coach due to personal reasons, the MLS side have confirmed.
The Argentine ends his 17-month stint in charge of the Herons following their MLS Cup exit just under a fortnight ago.
Martino, who oversaw Miami's Leagues Cup triumph soon after his arrival last season, guided the franchise to this year's Supporters' Shield with a regular-season record tally of 74 points.
However, they were eliminated by his former side Atlanta United in round one of the MLS Cup playoffs.
Miami opened their best-of-three series against Atlanta with a 2-1 win, only to lose by the same scoreline in Game 2 before falling to a dramatic 3-2 defeat in the decider.
“It has been an honour to work at such a special club, and to lead such a special team," Martino said.
"I’ve enjoyed my stay at Inter Miami and will treasure the memories made and relationships forged here for the rest of my life.
"I depart with nothing but gratitude for my time here and would like to offer sincere thanks to everyone that made it possible."
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