Chelsea defender Thiago Silva has called into question the club’s strategy after exiting the Champions League at the hands of Real Madrid.
The Blues’ season is now effectively over, having been knocked out of all competitions and currently sitting in the bottom half of the Premier League.
This season, the club’s first under the new ownership group, has seen significant change with more than £600m spent on new players and four different managers at the helm.
And Silva believes the number of signings has made it more difficult for the team to be successful.
“The manager can only pick 11 from 30-something. That’s tough,” he explained.
“There is always going to be someone upset because not everyone can play.
“It’s a difficult moment for the club, with a lot of indecision.
“We had to increase the size of the changing rooms because it didn’t fit the size of the team.
“A positive point is that there are amazing players within the squad, but on the other hand there is always players that are going to be unhappy.
“We need to stop and put a strategy in place, otherwise next season we could make the same mistakes.
“Everybody talks too much about replacing managers. I think we, as players, must also take responsibility.
“We have had three managers this season, plus a fourth with Bruno where we failed to win. We have lost today and with Lampard, we have failed to win.”
Chelsea’s owners, fronted by Todd Boehly, are coming under increasing pressure with former Blues striker Didier Drogba telling Canal+ ahead of the game that he “didn’t recognise his club”.
“It is not the same club any more,” Drogba, 45, told Canal+. “I don’t recognise my club. There is a new owner and a new vision.
“We try to compare with what was done under the Abramovich era, where there were many acquisitions of players, but the choices were very intelligent.
“Bringing in players like Petr Cech, Andriy Shevchenko, Hernan Crespo, Michael Essien, Didier Drogba, Florent Malouda, and I go on. It was to win titles and they are players who already have some experience. Here the strategy is different, they bet on young players.
“I think they certainly lack charismatic players and leaders. It needs players who take responsibility.”
The decision to sack Graham Potter after just six months in charge and install former captain and manager Lampard as interim boss until the end of the season has also not worked out, having lost all four of his games in charge since returning.
Chelsea’s owners will make a permanent appointment ahead of next season and Lampard says that despite having little to play for, he is adamant that his side must finish the season strongly.
“We now have a little bit of time to work, and people from the outside might write it off and say what does that mean if you’re coming eighth or 12th or whatever it is?,” Lampard said.
“But to me it means a lot, and other than that I don’t look beyond that. That for me is the challenge, to raise performance.”
