Chelsea's downfall could be that their mega-money stars are not in enough bother.

That is the view of the club's manager Mauricio Pochettino, who was asked about the cause of their poor season.

As the club languishes in midtable, Pochettino is left fighting for his job beyond this season.

“I am going to explain what I explained to them," Pochettino said.

“When I was at Espanyol, my first experience as a coach, I was at the training ground at 7am every morning.

“Then when I moved to Southampton: 6.30am. Then Tottenham: 7am. Then PSG: the same, 6am in the morning. Now, again: 6.45am. You can ask the guy at security.

“It is not going to change. After 15 years, my passion is here, my motivation is football. After 15 years of working, your salary increases, your bank account.

“But that cannot put me in a very comfortable zone to say, 'Now I arrive at 9am and leave at 2pm'. I need to keep pushing myself, to keep pushing my team and my coaching staff, because we want to win and want to be competitive."

Pochettino continued on the players possibly not being focused enough on performing: "What do I need to do? It is to arrive early. It is too work more. It is to run more. It is to be more focused.

“It is not now to arrive to Chelsea (slaps hands together) and I am so good because people believe that I am so good but I do the minimum effort. No, it is more responsibility now. For us, we feel the responsibility."