Three things Chelsea must do to bounce back against West Ham

EPL: The international break came at the best of times but also the worst of times for Chelsea.

A fortnight after our discouraging draw to West Brom, Jose Mourinho’s men will have experienced two weeks of both reappraisal and concern.

With the return of the ‘Special One’ and a season of great expectations having supplied six wins out of 11 in the Premier League – barely par for the course at a team with title-winning ambitions – it is imperative that the Blues correct their recent wrongdoings to avoid another late November crisis.

Whichever line-up emerges from Upton Park to face West Ham on Saturday night will likely set the tone for our Christmas campaign, so Chelsea must ensure they hit the ground running.

And this is how they can do it.

1. Lead from the front
As Chelsea, West Ham and countless others have discerned, a prolific striker is not always crucial to scoring goals. But nevertheless, our attacking quartet have looked devoid of imagination lately and an in-form centre forward would be catnip to the team.

Samuel Eto’o and co. must translate their Champions League tallies into domestic goals for Chelsea to succeed this season – the Cameroon international will have his best chance to date with Fernando Torres doubtful and West Ham expected to allow him plenty of space up front.

What strikes me, though, is that our creative masterminds are finding themselves so easily dragged into dead-ends by mediocre defenders. Mourinho’s task is to find an existing replacement for the offensive fizz lost in Daniel Sturridge, as well as a Didier Drogba-esque target man.

2. Revive the Chelsea veterans
Curiously, just three of the players who started the West Brom game two weeks ago were part of the Champions League final winning eleven in 2012 (and, of that trio, neither Petr Cech, Gary Cahill nor Frank Lampard posted entirely convincing performances at Stamford Bridge).

You can add to that John Terry’s declining dominance and Ashley Cole’s unrelenting injury to discover a worrying lack of on-field acumen within the ranks.

It is the old guard’s defensive savviness and offensive guile – for which Juan Mata should be pivotal – that can help the Blues handle the likes of Ravel Morrison and melt away the Hammers backline. Our manager’s so-called “beautiful, young eggs” are seasonal stalwarts of the future.

3. Hold it when we have it
Chelsea’s struggle to maintain standards over the course of 90 minutes can be put down to an uneasiness on the ball, in addition to inexperience.

If Oscar, Eden Hazard and our full-backs can add a greater passing precision to their confidence in possession – one attacking trademark which has never been in doubt - more sustained pressure in the final third of the field would surely yield more goals.

Our series of tough fixtures will require Chelsea to uphold the defensive dependency and attacking efficacy that was present during Mourinho’s first spell at the Bridge, or else the ghost of Novembers past will continue bearing down on the Blues.

Metro