Character is key for Cahill as Chelsea chase consistency

Gary Cahill believes Chelsea must continue to show their character to come through a difficult spell in their Premier League title defence.

The Blues, who lost against Burnley on the opening day of the season, had built up some momentum before they were beaten by leaders Manchester City at the end of September.

That 1-0 defeat was followed by another loss at the hands of bottom-of-the-table Crystal Palace, and a 3-3 draw with Roma in the Champions League after leading 2-0.

Chelsea trailed again in the league on Saturday – at home to Watford – but they battled back to win 4-2 and captain Cahill sees that fighting spirit as key as his side look to rediscover their best form.

“It’s easy to play football when everything is going well and you are winning games back to back, winning, winning – it’s the best feeling ever,” he said. “You can go out there and express yourself you feel like you are not going to make mistakes.

“The hardest thing is when things are not going so well and you have got to dig in and get results. Obviously this moment is one of them, hence why [the Watford] result was good.

“When you are in a difficult moment, the mood is obviously going to be slightly down because everyone is going to be disappointed and they want to win.

Another milestone today as @GaryJCahill made his 250th appearance for the Blues. Congrats, Gary! pic.twitter.com/F7zQWuUngQ

— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) October 21, 2017

“For me, it is not just a situation of being here, or this team, I would guess it is the same at every other big club.

“When things are going well, everyone’s coming into training, having a lot of banter and joking about and enjoying things – and when you are not, it’s not that feeling, because the expectation level is to win. That is natural.

“That’s is why there is no better feeling than getting a win and then getting a bit of consistency; getting some consistency, some games won and getting back-to-back wins. All of a sudden, you notice that that lifts [morale].

“But at the minute, when you go into this game on the back of two defeats you can feel that weight, so it is about character and we have shown that [against Watford].”

Chelsea face floundering Everton next, in the EFL Cup on Wednesday, before travelling to Bournemouth in the league.