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Thiago Silva says Chelsea's squad size 'issue' forced them to expand dressing room and club must 'put together a plan'

Chelsea are 11th in the Premier League, 17 points off the top four with seven games remaining; Real Madrid ousted Frank Lampard's side by sealing a 4-0 aggregate victory in the Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday; Chelsea have spent more than £600m since Todd Boehly's takeover

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Chelsea's Thiago Silva says the players must take responsibility for the team's struggling form this season, and the blame should not solely be on the managers

Thiago Silva says Chelsea's squad size is an "issue" which even forced them to expand the dressing room, while the club must "put together a plan" to avoid making the same mistakes next season.

Chelsea sit 11th in the Premier League table and 17 points off the top four after their slim hopes of salvaging a torrid season were ended on Tuesday night with a 4-0 aggregate defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals.

They now face a season outside of Europe's premier competition, leaving them with little to play for in their remaining seven games despite having spent more than £600m on transfers since Todd Boehly's takeover - and Silva admitted their bloated squad is not helping matters.

"I think we've already taken the first step. It was a mistake, but it's happened. Now we've got to take a step back and see what we did wrong," Silva said after the Real defeat.

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Sky Sports News' Gary Cotterill and Nick Wright give their full-time analysis of Chelsea's 4-0 aggregate defeat by Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-final, and ask: can anyone make these players gel together?

"There's no point looking at the coach and saying, 'It's this guy or that guy's fault', if we don't step up to the plate.

"The club are going through a tough patch, it was all a bit vague at the beginning, then there was a change of ownership, many players came in. We even had to extend the dressing room as it wasn't big enough for all the players.

Chelsea have spent the most on transfers in the Premier League since the summer of 2022.
Image: Chelsea have spent the most on transfers in the Premier League since the summer of 2022.

"A positive is that we've got great players in the squad. On the flipside, someone is always going to be annoyed or feel down because not everyone can play. The coach can only pick 11 players yet there are 30-odd here. That's an issue, isn't it?

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Tim Sherwood believes Chelsea should get a new manager in now, even if it means them working alongside Frank Lampard after they were brushed aside by Real Madrid

"Some players are out of favour. Auba (Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang) came in as a starter but he's not in the Champions League squad as there was a limit of three, and we made eight signings in January.

"We've got to take stock and put together a plan for next season so that we don't make the same mistakes."

Lampard has lost four successive matches since returning on a temporary basis, with his side scoring just once in that period.

The Blues resume an underwhelming season at home to neighbours Brentford next Wednesday ahead of fixtures against Arsenal, Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest, Manchester City, Newcastle and Manchester United.

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The Evening Standard's Chelsea correspondent Nizaar Kinsella says the size of Chelsea's squad is affecting the team's performances this season.

Lampard is the club's fourth manager this term following the sackings of Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter, plus one game under interim coach Bruno Saltor, and Silva also warned there are no guarantees another new boss will spark a revival.

"Everybody talks too much about replacing managers," said the 38-year-old. "I think we, as players, must also take responsibility.

"We have had three managers this season, plus a fourth with Bruno where we failed to win. We have lost [against Real] and with Lampard, we have failed to win.

"Everybody is talking about the manager but we must look at what has been done wrong and try to change."

Chelsea's remaining fixtures

April 26: Brentford (H) - Premier League, kick-off 7.45pm

May 2: Arsenal (A) - Premier League, kick-off 5.30pm, live on Sky Sports

May 6: Bournemouth (A) - Premier League, kick-off 3pm

May 13: Nottingham Forest (H) - Premier League, kick-off 3pm

May 20: Manchester City (A) - Premier League, kick-off 3pm

May 28: Newcastle (H) - Premier League, kick-off 4.30pm

TBA: Man Utd (A) - Premier League

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