Thiago Silva’s damning Chelsea verdict after Champions League exit – ‘We need to stop and put a strategy in place’

Thiago Silva delivered a damning verdict of the current state of affairs at Chelsea and stressed the “need to stop and put a strategy in place”.

Since being taken over by Todd Boehly and private equity firm Clearlake Capital, Chelsea have spent £550m on players across the summer and winter transfer windows, but have had disappointing results on the pitch.

“The manager can only pick 11 from 30-something. That’s tough,” Silva told TNT Sports.

“There is always going to be someone upset because not everyone can play.

“It’s a difficult moment for the club, with a lot of indecision. We had to increase the size of the changing rooms because it didn’t fit the size of the team.

“A positive point is that there are amazing players within the squad, but on the other hand there is always players that are going to be unhappy.

“We need to stop and put a strategy in place, otherwise next season we could make the same mistakes.”

Chelsea have had four managers this season after sacking Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter, while Bruno Saltor took interim charge for the goalless draw with Liverpool.

Frank Lampard returned for his second spell in charge of the side on a deal until the end of the season, but has lost all four games in charge to date.

“Everybody talks too much about replacing managers. I think we, as players, must also take responsibility,” the Brazilian explained.

“We have had three managers this season, plus a fourth with Bruno where we failed to win. We have lost today 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.”

Tuesday night’s defeat combined alongside their position in the Premier League table means Chelsea are unlikely to qualify for Europe for only the second time in 25 seasons.

They most recently missed out on securing European football in the 2015-16 season when the west Londoners finished tenth.

Chelsea stormed back the following campaign to claim their fifth and most recent Premier League title under Antonio Conte.

Their next match will be visit of Brentford in a west London derby at Stamford Bridge on April 26.