Mauricio Pochettino believes Chelsea need more transfer window surgery in January to lift them out of the malaise which has left them 12th in the table and well adrift of Champions League qualification.
A 2-0 loss at Everton was their seventh Premier League defeat of the season and bridging the 14-point gap to Manchester City in fourth looks near-impossible for a side short of goals and consistency.
Chelsea have spent over £1billion in the last three transfer windows but many of those preceded Pochettino’s summer arrival and he wants his own players in to help kick-start his Stamford Bridge rejuvenation.
Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino, speaking to MOTD: ‘Football is about scoring goals and we were not clinical in front of goal. I’m really, really disappointed. We didn’t get the point we deserved.
‘I think we were better but we didn’t get what we wanted.
‘This was a game to play and to win. It’s a problem we need to check. We need to analyse the reality. We need to talk and to try to improve in the next transfer market.
‘We are dealing with this. After five months, or the first half of the season, we need to check and that’s the reality. If we are not aggressive enough (on the pitch) maybe we need to do something.’
‘Our reality now is mid-table and if we want to go up we have to push ourselves. When the transfer window opens (we will) see what we can do.
‘I’m not saying I’m going to ask for more players or less players but it is to see if perception matches reality.
‘If perception here (indicating one point on a line) and reality is here (indicating another point) then we are missing something in the middle. Sometimes it’s good, a reality check.
‘It is a new project, a new team with too many circumstances against us. That’s the reality, too many problems and circumstances from the beginning of the season.