Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel has said the club finishing top four this season is not a given.
Though the German is confident over the Bluesโ chances, he said with the nature of the Premier League anything can happen.
Chelsea sits in third place in the table at the moment, with Tottenham and Arsenal both five points behind the west London club.
The Blues have been defeated in two of their most recent matches, a 4-1 defeat to Brentford in the Premier League and a 3-1 loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League.
In a press conference ahead of Chelseaโs clash against Southampton on Saturday, Tuchel was asked how confident he is about Chelsea finishing in the top four this season.
The Blues boss replied, โAbsolutely confident but not as a given. I never thought of it as a given.
โBecause this is the most demanding league in the world and we know how we struggled through the season and what can make us struggle.
โWe can play on a very, very high level.
โIf we reach our top level and we do this very often, which is our job. But if we donโt reach it, we can also lose to any teams of any quality and unfortunately, we proved it in five days.
โSo, this is us, and this is nothing bad. Itโs just a reminder that we should not feel ashamed to fight for third place. There is no disappointment.
โAt the moment we are third and itโs a tough competition until the very last day.
โDo I feel confident? Yes, because I have trust in my players and the club and in myself and my staff. But do we feel that this is a given? No, absolutely not but it never felt like this.โ