Chelsea new manager Thomas Tuchel fears the Premier League title is already out of Blues reach and finishing in the top four might be beyond them as well.
Tuchel had to settle for a point as his first game in charge ended in a goalless draw at Stamford Bridge against Wolves.
Chelsea are in eighth position but the German coach promised to work on the details and create a team no-one likes to play against.
“The title? Whoah, it’s far away you know,’ said Tuchel, when asked if he could win the Premier League. ‘No, we have to be realistic.
“When you sign for Chelsea as a player or like me as a manager, you sign for the expectation to challenge for titles. That means Premier League, the Champions League and all the cups. It’s absolutely clear.
“At the same time, we have to be realistic. There are a lot of teams between us and fourth – and a lot of points in between us. The best thing is that we don’t lose the focus and look too far, but stay and work on the details on a daily basis and the points will follow.
“This is the starting point. We will focus on our strengths and qualities and we will build a team nobody wants to play against, that’s the challenge. It’s for me to do that as fast as possible. For today, I was very pleased.”
Tuchel, who had only one training session to prepare his team after Frank Lampard was sacked on Monday, praised the players and staff for their approach and attitude.
“Sixteen recoveries in the last third is proof of amazing intensity and energy on the pitch,’ he said. ‘We put the game in the opponents half. We closed counter attacks very early.
“We created half-chances and with every minute more and more chances. We did not allow dangerous counter-attacks. We were well-organised, we were brave, we had courage, we played as a team.
“I told everybody there’s no room for disappointment and no room for doubt. In fact, the opposite. I was very happy with the performance.”