Thomas Tuchel says Chelsea are ready to be ‘hunters’ to secure top-four spot in Premier League
The Blues are unbeaten in four since the former PSG boss took over at the end of January
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Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel paid tribute to his players for quickly securing results needed to get the team in the mix for a top-four finish and says the Blues have only that objective in mind for this term.
Frank Lampard guided the team into the Champions League for the current season and easily navigated the group stage, with the Stamford Bridge club set to face Atletico Madrid in the last 16 later in February.
But domestically, Chelsea were ninth in the table when Lampard departed, five points off fourth-place Liverpool and having won just two of the previous eight league games.
READ MORE: Premier League fixtures and table - all matches by date and kick-off time
Tuchel has quickly turned that form around, with the 2-1 win over Sheffield United at the weekend being a fourth straight match without defeat and a third win on the bounce - and that consistency must now be maintained, he said.
"The guys put themselves in the situation where we are the hunters for the teams in front of us," Tuchel told reporters.
"We are close. For us it's clear: we are responsible for a situation where we are close where we want to be.
"We want to try everything to be top four and we said this very clear when we started."
Lampard's last game in charge was the 3-1 FA Cup win over Luton and Tuchel's next challenge is the fifth round of that competition, away to Barnsley on Thursday night.
Beyond that, league games against under-performing Newcastle and out-of-form Southampton lie in wait, suggesting the good results for Chelsea could go on a while longer yet.
They are up to fifth in the table, just one point behind Liverpool who have lost their last two.
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