Cape Town - Chelsea
star Eden Hazard has reiterated the importance of finishing the Premier
League season in the top four, after an inconsistent run of form.
The Blues' league campaign appeared to be going well after 24 games, as they had lost only four times and sat in third position behind Manchester City and Manchester United.
However, Antonio Conte's men suffered shock defeats against Bournemouth (3-0) and Watford (4-1) towards the end of January, putting increasing pressure on the Chelsea manager and putting their top-four place in doubt.
The west London side bounced back well in their last outing, beating West Brom 3-0, but they are only one point ahead of fifth-placed Tottenham, and Hazard has warned his team-mates that dropping out of the top four is unacceptable.
"It was a good response to the two losses. We have great players and we need to finish in the top four at the end of the season, that's our target," Hazard told the club's official website.
"We have 11 games to play between now and then and we have to give everything to achieve that."
"We are all together," he added. "We have to work and win games. When you play for Chelsea you have to put this in your mind and give everything on the pitch.
"We need to be in the top four, for the Champions League next season, and it would be good if we can take the FA Cup. We are also in the Champions League, it's not easy to win the Champions League but we will go for everything.
"We have three months to play until the end of the season and we have to give everything to reach our targets... the target has to be to win trophies."