Football: Chelsea's league slump giving me sleepless nights, says Fabregas

Jose Mourinho. Photo / AP

Chelsea's extraordinary slump has been keeping Cesc Fabregas awake at night, and the Spaniard believes that the crisis can be resolved only through open internal dialogue and collective hard work.

Chelsea have already lost more English Premier League matches than in any previous season under Jose Mourinho but Fabregas was again adamant that the club's most successful manager still retained the support of the players. Asked if his concern about Chelsea's form had been preventing him from sleeping, Fabregas said: "Yes, when things don't go right".

"Sometimes when I am at home, in bed, I wonder. You have your own thoughts and the manager will have his thoughts about what is going on and it is all about talking about things and putting this right all together.

"Football is my life. It is everything to me. My family keep me happy sometimes but when football does not go well, my life is not happy."

Chelsea's next Premier League fixture is at home against Norwich City on Sunday when the club will be trying to arrest a sequence of three consecutive Premier League defeats and Fabregas again rejected any suggestion the players no longer backed their manager.

"I cannot support him even more than I am doing," the Spain midfielder said. "I am always saying he deserves it, 100 per cent.

"We are not playing well but that does not mean we are not in favour of the manager or something like that. We want to win for Chelsea.

"We want the club to be at the top and [with] someone like Mourinho who is having difficult times and the players, then you have to support each other and give your best.

"It has been really difficult. For me, the manager and some other players, we have always been lucky enough to play for big teams. Always trying to get to the top and always be fighting for things.

"In the Champions League, we are still there. The FA Cup has not even started yet so it is all about the league, trying to be as high as we can around Christmas because then it will be a very, very tough time."

Fabregas believes luck cannot be used as an explanation for the slide in standards.

"When you know things are not going your way, you have to do even more. When things go well, you touch the ball with any part of your body. You are not looking, and it goes in.

"Unfortunately, the ball does not want to go in at the moment."

Fabregas also stressed how important it could be for Chelsea if Diego Costa started scoring more regularly.

"The striker is the most important player on the pitch. You can play well, defend well, but it is about scoring goals, about scoring one more goal."