Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri feels his relationship with the support has suffered due to their impressive start to the season.
Sarri insisted that the excellent start that Chelsea made to the season under him, when they went 18 matches before losing a game, had lulled their supporters into a false sense of security.
The 60-year-old said: “Probably we started the season too well. Maybe our fans thought that it would be easy for us. But in the Premier League it's not easy. Every match is very difficult, every team is strong. It's very difficult to be in the top four.
“I expected problems. We had to face difficulties, and we have. We started very well but I knew that, sooner or later, we'd have to face big difficulties.
“Maybe in the last few seasons the fans were used to winning. Probably they thought it was normal to continue to win. But it's not normal.
“Other teams have improved."