Chelsea defender Gary Cahill says its time in his career to establish himself as a Premier League mainstay.

Cahill knows some see him still as "one for the future".

He told The Sun: "I'm at an age now where I want to start being a big part of things.

"Sometimes people think I'm still a young lad. Even the other night, maybe they were saying, 'Oh, he's one for the future'.

"But I'm 26 and at the stage of my career where I'd like to stamp my authority on the game.

"To do that, you need a run of matches to cement your place in the side, not sometimes in the team and then out again.

"It's really frustrating sitting on the bench. Every footballer will tell you that. You want to be out there playing. You want to have an input and influence the way the game is going. You can't do that just sitting and watching.

"I feel like I'm having to prove something to people all the time.

"There are two or three games where it feels as though you've done enough. But then it turns out you haven't and you're back to the start again."