Chelsea need to get back to basics: Begovic

REUTERS – Premier League champions Chelsea need to get back to basics and show character to get their season back on track, goalkeeper Asmir Begovic has said.

The Blues lost just three games in the league last season as they went on to win the title with a comfortable eight-point gap, but they have already lost four out of eight games in the current campaign.

Chelsea have been poor defensively, conceding 17 league goals this season, already more than half they allowed last season.

“That’s life, that’s football — you have ups and downs. We’re going through a down at this moment and we need to improve. We need to get back to basics, work even harder,” Begovic told the club’s website (www.chelseafc.com).

“We have to show character and we can’t feel sorry for ourselves. It’s not the standard this club and team has set so for us at the moment it is a very difficult time.

“When things are not going your way it’s tough; we’re playing against a lot of things at the moment, it’s a mental thing as well, but it’s just something we’ve got to keep fighting through.”

Chelsea head into the international break with eight points and sit fifth from bottom in the table.

Begovic said the players should use the break to regroup.

“Hopefully this break comes at a good time and we can regroup, get a good result in the next game and drive on from there,” the former Stoke City goalkeeper said.

“Hopefully everyone is fit when we get back from the break and then we get a result and we can look forward from there.

“Obviously the goal is still to be challenging at the top of the table.”

(Reporting by Shravanth Vijayakumar in Bengaluru; editing by Sudipto Ganguly)