Emma Hayes complains her Chelsea players have been 'taken for granted' as Blues boss reveals aims for season following Women's FA Cup exit to Man Utd

The Blues, who had won the last three editions of the Women's FA Cup, crashed out of the competition on Sunday as they went down 2-1 against Manchester United. The team have now exited two domestic cup competitions having lost to Arsenal last month in the Conti Cup final.

However, Emma Hayes felt that people sometimes have too much expectation from her team as they are known to be serial winners in the past. The club have won four-straight WSL titles and are fighting for a seventh league trophy in the current season. The outgoing Chelsea boss - who is set to join the USWNT at the end of the 2023/24 season - also outlined the club's target for the remainder of the campaign.

Speaking to reporters, the 47-year-old manager said, "I just want the players to go out and enjoy themselves tomorrow. I want them to play in front of a fanbase that I truly hope appreciates this group of players. I believe this team over a number of years has delivered so much success for this club and to these fans, and sometimes I feel the players get taken for granted on that. So I want our fans to show appreciation.

"I care that they realise the level of success we have had is difficult to do all the time, to keep winning and winning and winning. I'm proud that we keep doing that even if it doesn't always go our way. We have to pick ourselves up and go again."

She added, "In an ideal world, you go into the summer with a medal you can take with you. Nobody wants to just go into the summer with memories. But we've done a lot of winning. It's not like we don't know what that feels like. There's still a way to go. We're still in two competitions and we have to commit to that in the same way we have with everything else. We need to show up - that's what I'm challenging the players to do. Show up in everything we're doing daily."

The West London club will be back in action in the WSL on Wednesday as they take on Aston Villa before facing Barcelona in the first leg of their Women's Champions League semi-final fixture on Saturday.