Chelsea head coach Frank Lampard has said some of his club's new players need to "wake up" after back-to-back defeats to Everton and Wolves.
The Blues were flying high to begin the Premier League campaign but losses at Goodison Park at the weekend and Molineux on Tuesday have brought them back to earth.
The club spent big in the summer on a handful of new players and though some, like Thiago Silva, have slotted in seamlessly, others, like German duo Kai Havertz and Timo Werner, are currently struggling for form.
There have been calls to drop Havertz and Werner and even goalkeeper Edouard Mendy has been scrutinised after a strong start to life at Stamford Bridge.
Lampard has expressed his hope that the consecutive defeats can serve as a wake-up call to his players, particularly those who are new to the Premier League.
"We need to reflect on the two games we have lost points in, which is disappointing, but also know this is a long season. We have to bounce back; the players have to bounce back," Lampard told Chelsea's official website.
"We’re a young group, some players are new to this league, they need to wake up to what this is about right now, because games like the last two prove it."
In a season that will be packed with fixtures, Chelsea will now have a welcome break of six days before their next game: a home match against West Ham on Monday.
Lampard said the break will be welcomed by his players, though he doesn't expect them to necessarily be happy as they wait to take on the Hammers at Stamford Bridge before another busy run of fixtures.
"They can have a little bit of a rest, hopefully not a happy rest because when you lose games you’re not happy, but physically the players need a bit of a break going into another really busy period," Lampard said.
"The players must learn lessons because the games are coming thick and fast over Christmas.
"I know what we can do, and I know consistency is another matter. We had been on a long unbeaten run, great, but to really get to where we want to be it has to be longer than that, or if you have a blip you have to bounce back from that."
