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Chelsea midfielder Loftus-Cheek: We need to embrace all these new signings

Ruben Loftus-Cheek admits there was frustration inside the Chelsea dressing room after their 1-1 draw at West Ham.

The midfielder felt they deserved a win.

"We are all disappointed in the changing room," Loftus-Cheek reflected.

"We dominated in the first half, created the chances. They didn't threaten us too much, we thought we had the game under control.

"It was a fantastic goal, a great finish from Joao who is settling in really well. He's a great addition to the team. It was looking good, but one good cross from them and it's 1-1. That gave them a bit of confidence and the crowd got involved.

"They defended well in the second half. It was difficult to get in between the lines. They were compact. We found some joy down the side, that's where it looked like we would get in, but they defended crosses well.

"We're all shocked about what we thought was a handball in the closing minutes," concluded Loftus-Cheek.

"I didn't see much from the bench at the time, but seeing the replay it was clear to me it was a handball for stopping a shot at goal."

Loftus-Cheek collected his first minutes since the loss at Newcastle in the final fixture before the World Cup.

"I can't believe it's been that many months," he admitted.

"The injury took a bit longer than I had hoped, it's been frustrating, but I've been training for a couple of weeks and I'm feeling good.

"The gaffer saw that and asked me if I was feeling good to step in, and I said yeah of course. I wasn't flying about and feeling 100 per cent, but I have to build on this."

Yesterday's draw was therefore the first time the midfielder had played with five of the starting XI, including his midfield partner at the London Stadium, Enzo Fernandez.

"I've never had this kind of feeling before with so many new players coming in. We need to embrace it; it's happened for the better.

"The quicker we can get these boys to settle in and gel, the quicker we can start performing better. But believe me, we're not taking these draws and losses and that's it. We're hurt when we lose or draw. We're taking every necessary step to win."

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Paul Vegas

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