Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has warned they're falling behind big spending rivals after their thrashing by Bournemouth.
Chelsea recruited midfielder Ross Barkley before adding striker Olivier Giroud and full-back Emerson Palmieri to their squad this week.
And when asked whether it was harder for Chelsea to secure a Champions League spot this season because of the amount of money spent by their top-four rivals, Conte said: "We have to understand that, if we want to speak about football and if we think to understand football we know very well this will be very difficult for us.
"If we want only to dream and not see the reality – in this case, I can tell you now we can fight to win the title this season!
"[But] It will be very important to look at the reality and to know that, if we are able to reach a place in the Champions League, it will be a great success for us. Otherwise we have a normal season."
When then asked whether the Chelsea board are dreamers or realists, Conte replied: "I don't know.
"My task is to try to be more realistic and try to transfer this to the players, because the players... if they know and understand the danger...
"But the players are fantastic in their commitment. They understand very well what our situation is in this season."