Chelsea striker Didier Drogba insists finishing outside the Premier League top four is not an option for the Blues this season.
Striker maintains belief Chelsea will finish in top four
Chelsea striker Didier Drogba insists finishing outside the Premier League top four is not an option for the Blues this season.
Drogba is set to return to Stamford Bridge after helping Ivory Coast to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations, where they lost out to Zambia.
He will rejoin a side who are without a win in four league games and have slipped into fifth place in the table.
Chelsea's poor form has piled pressure on young manager Andre Villas-Boas but Drogba, who has never finished outside the top four since joining the club in 2004, insists everyone must take responsibility and fight for a UEFA Champions League spot.
Belief
Asked if he feared finishing below the European places, Drogba told
Sky Sports News: "I may look arrogant but no, because I hope and I believe we're going to win all of our games to finish in the top four.
"Maybe we took it for granted that every year we would be in the first two or first three position.
"We have to fight and the manager is responsible, the players are responsible, I think the whole team is responsible for that. So it's difficult to pick one man and put the blame on him."
The 33-year-old added in
The Sun: "If we don't make the top four it would be a disaster.
"Every time we've started a season since I've been with Chelsea we never even finished as low as fourth.
"We have to make the top four because Chelsea is a big club. Of course it can happen that the club goes below fourth."
Rumours of dressing room unrest have surfaced in recent weeks, with reports suggesting Chelsea's players are unhappy with Villas-Boas' management style and team selections.
While Drogba admits there have been problems behind the scenes, he insists any issues will evaporate if the Blues go on a winning run.
Philosophy
He said: "All of this can be true but if you win with the same tactics we are playing now, nobody will complain. The best way to keep a team happy is to win games.
"For me the manager's age is not an issue, you have to respect his position and his authority.
"It's difficult because we are trying to change the way we play and to adapt to his philosophy so that's maybe why it's taking time and we are struggling to be in the top two.
"But I don't think it's about the style the manager wants to bring to the team, it's about winning games."
