Gary Cahill gave Chelsea the following advice: "If people are not playing to their level, they leave or get sold."
As the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal against Real Madrid begins tonight at Stamford Bridge, Frank Lampard's team is set to try to overcome a 2-0 deficit.
Gary Cahill questioned Chelsea's players' underwhelming performances this year and issued a warning that they are under pressure to improve or risk being let go.
The Blues are currently wallowing in the bottom half of the table in 11th place after Cahill's previous team was easily defeated 2-1 at home by Brighton in the Premier League on Saturday.
As the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal against Real Madrid begins tonight at Stamford Bridge, Frank Lampard's team is set to try to overcome a 2-0 deficit.
Speaking prior to the game, Cahill added: "In my experience at the football club, if people are not performing at their level, they eventually leave or are sold.
"As soon as you stop performing well, you're let go from the team; otherwise, you're sold, and they bring in the next best thing.
"I believe that is the pressure, and I believe that as a player, I would be examining myself and asking myself, 'Am I playing to the level I should be?'" If I weren't, I'd be concerned because I'd be worried that I wouldn't be there.
"The pressure is on at the larger clubs, and that's the difference; while your job may occasionally be easy because you play with better players, the pressure is ten times greater than it is when you're playing at a lesser team.
There is pressure from everyone because "if they're not playing well enough, ultimately I'm sure the club will move them on."
Cahill, who was a member of the west London team from 2012 to 2019, brought attention to the problems associated with Chelsea's overstretched squad.
14 new players have been added to Frank Lampard's roster since Todd Boehly's Clearlake Capital consortium acquired the team in May.
Cahill continued, "Man-managing is extremely, really difficult when you have so many players, especially at a major club. All of the players believe that they should participate.
"You're leaving a lot of players in the stands and some slightly unhappy guys on the bench.
"Managing that group of players and getting the best performance from them is really difficult."
The former Chelsea captain underscored the value of representing one's team, a concept Lampard also stressed to his teammates upon his return two weeks prior.
The Chelsea badge "represents a big deal." It indicates that you are representing a major club in European football, and Frank is the one who, in my opinion, knows more about that and what it takes to perform at a high level than anyone else.
According to my experience, Lamps' experience, and the experiences of the boys who came before us, "playing for the badge at Chelsea" means continuing to compete for trophies. To try and win things is the sole motivation for trying to join the best teams.
The fact that this is their final opportunity to earn a prize this year ought to provide as sufficient motivation for the Madrid game.
