Maurizio Sarri says Chelsea must solve their mental problems following the 6-0 battering at the hands of Manchester City on Sunday.
The Blues were hammered from the opening moments in the loss to the reigning Premier League title contenders with Raheem Sterling after just four minutes.
By the 25th minute, it was 4-0, and Chelsea never got close to showing enough fight to turn the tide.
Sarri has begrudged his side's mental fortitude previously in his first season in charge of the club, but bouncing back from the Man City loss may prove the team's biggest test yet.
“In my opinion, the last game was not a problem of motivation. We were not able to react to the first difficulty during the match because, in the first four or five minutes, we started well," he said.
"Then, after the first goal, we were not able to react. So the problem is different. But it's always a mind problem, a mental problem, so we need to solve them.”
“I think that, sometimes, as the match in Tottenham in the Premier League [showed], we had not the right approach to the match, the right determination," Sarri added.
"This match, in my opinion, was different. We had very good training during the week. We arrived at the match with the right level of motivation. Then we conceded a goal after five minutes and were not able to do anything.”
Sarri added that the players and coaching staff met for an hour the day after the match in an effort to clear the air following the defeat.
In the days since, Chelsea have looked to mentally move on from the loss, something Sarri says hasn't been totally simple.
Now, they'll face a difficult road, starting with Thursday's Europa League clash with Malmo.
After that comes an FA Cup meeting with Manchester United, the return leg against Malmo before meeting Manchester City again in the Carabao Cup final.
“Not too easy, of course. But I think, after a match like in Manchester City, it's normal," Sarri said.
"It's not easy to play tomorrow [against Malmo] after a 6-0, but we have to play and we have to play well. We want to win.
"We know that it will be not really very easy because we have to play against a very good team, I think. They are compact, they are solid.
"They have usually a very good defensive phase, so it won't be easy. But we want to win and react immediately.”