Thomas Tuchel has admitted Chelsea's congested fixture schedule has left him feeling 'tired', admitting this fatigue may have played a role in his side's recent defeat to Arsenal.
The Blues fell to a 4-2 defeat against London rivals Arsenal on Wednesday, in what was their sixth match of the month.
The game came just three days after a draining FA Cup semi-final against Crystal Palace, which was preceded by a Champions League quarter-final meeting with Real Madrid that went to extra time.
There has been plenty of discussion about the effects that this volume of games has on players but speaking before Chelsea's clash with West Ham on Sunday, Tuchel also admitted this had had an effect on him too.
"Yes, always, but I am used to it," he said, when asked whether he felt tired.
"I reflect on what signals we give. We only had two days in between coming from Wembley and an emotional game and win to the next match. I felt very tired after the Real Madrid and the turnaround, Southampton away, Real Madrid away, and another away game in Wembley, I felt it, I was tired."
Tuchel went on to hint that his fatigue may have given Arsenal an easier task in midweek.
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"So should I have pushed harder? What signals did I give? We did what we were convinced about, but we feel it?" he said.
"With an evening game, I think there is still enough time to prepare and get in the right mood. For myself, I have developed a routine. I don't feel the same level of excitement for every match. For me, this is impossible, and you should not expect it. There is nothing wrong to feel sometimes a lower level of excitement, a lower level of tension. This is normal.
"This doesn't mean we do it less seriously or prepare with less quality. I don't want to get confused in this kind of thinking. We can trust ourselves and prepare in the best way possible. We are asking what is it because it came out of the blue, it was a weird result given how the game went. It was different from the Real Madrid and Brentford performances."
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Source : 90min