Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho says Andre Schurrle will get sharper as the season rolls on.

World Cup winner Schurrle missed a number of opportunities in victory over Aston Villa.

Mourinho would not fault his performance, although he recognised the Germany forward, like the team, is not at his best yet.

The Portuguese said: "He really wanted to make an impact in that game, and his performance was really good. It was important for him to play 90 minutes.

"He was one of the guys, like the Brazilians, who reached the last stage of the World Cup, his holiday was very short.

"In this last part of the World Cup, we had players in the same position: Ramires, Willian, Oscar and Schurrle. I couldn't say 'you four, holidays, I can do without you', because I couldn't do without them.

"I need them and I need them step by step. Not one of them is in super form, like (Cesc) Fabregas, (Nemanja) Matic, (Branislav) Ivanovic. At this moment, they're not. It has to be step by step."