Chelsea boss Frank Lampard says his manne are so out of form, they nearly failed to beat 10-man Fulham on Saturday.
The team from Stamford Bridge have caught a heavy case of the Blues since the start of the December festive period, with their most recent win only their second in seven games.
Of those matches, they have lost four, with the pressure mounting on Lampard as the Chelsea hierarchy are reportedly losing patience.
Despite Fulham’s Antonee Robinson being sent off at the stroke of half time for a foul on Cesar Azpilicueta, Lampard had to wait until 12 minutes from full time for Mason Mount to pop up with a winner.
And Lampard says: “A month ago we were flying high, but since then we’ve struggled.
“It’s a challenge even a man down.
“Perfection is not an easy thing to get. I won’t say I was blown away with the performance. There were lots of bits I was happy with, but we won't get too ahead of ourselves.”
Lampard hailed Mount after his half-volley finish following a goalkeeping error.
He says off the England midfielder: “I thought his performance all round was fantastic; he’s been very good for us, last year and this year.
“I came to Chelsea at 22, and I wasn’t blowing the world away in my first year or so, I was finding my feet, but Mason already has so many games under his belt.
“When you look across our front line, you’ve got Pulisic, similar age bracket, Kai Havertz, similar age bracket, Callum Hudson-Odoi, younger age bracket, Tammy [Abraham], Timo [Werner], they are all young.”