Former Manchester United star Paul Scholes believes, Chelsea’s chance to finish the season in the top half of the table is not over yet.
The Blues are currently languishing 14th in the league table, just three points above the relegation zone following their nightmarish start to this campaign under Jose Mourinho who was sacked earlier this month.
Guus Hiddink has since then taken charge at Stamford Bridge and Chelsea are yet to lose under the Dutch tactician drawing twice.
From the very start of the season Chelsea have struggled to hit the nets with Diego Costa failing to deliver consistently and last season’s PFA Player of the Year Eden Hazard yet to score this season.
Loic Remy has been in and out of the starting line-up while Radamel Falcao also failed to hit the ground running at Stamford Bridge making Mourinho’s life miserable before being axed by club owner Roman Abramovich.
But Paul Scholes believes Chelsea can still end the season in the top half of the table if they manage to sign a striker in January transfer window.
“I can see them top six, top seven maybe. But I’m sure once they get a centre-forward back they’ll get up that league,” he told BT Sport.
“They have to be better than they were here today. They looked tired to me.
“But I expect them to start winning games and move up that league.”
The new interim boss of Stamford Bridge, Guus Hiddink has warned Chelsea stars their futures depend on their own performance in upcoming fixtures. The rest of the season is now a huge challenge in rescuing some sort of semblance of credibility, after their pathetic title defence in Premier League history.
These are certainly strange times at Chelsea. With Jose Mourinho gone and last season’s dream run also a distant future now, Chelsea somehow find themselves in an unfamiliar territory.
Hobbling around near the bottom of the league table is not a favourable zone they are used to sitting, yet this is the reality Guus Hiddink has stepped into and one the flop players must confront to stay alive.
The 69-year-old Dutch tactician who guided Chelsea to the FA Cup glory back in 2009 in his first stint in charge, after briefly taking over from Luiz Felipe Scolari, has already warned the Chelsea players that he will dump anyone who hasn’t got the desire to turn around the club’s frustrating campaign following Jose Mourinho’s exit.
Chelsea’s next Premier League fixture is a trip to Crystal Palace on 3rd January, before welcoming West Bromwich at home.