Branislav Ivanovic says Chelsea must blame themselves for poor form
Defender says Chelsea have been let down by inconsistency and hopes the side can return to form in the FA Cup replay against Brentford
Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic says his side have only themselves to blame for their spluttering form as they bid to avoid an FA Cup embarrassment in today's fourth-round replay against Brentford.
Rafael Benitez's team were below their best again in an unconvincing 1-0 win at Sparta Prague in the Europa League on Thursday and the lacklustre display only added to the impression that the Blues are painfully out of sorts.
Fernando Torres took the brunt of the criticism after missing two golden chances to open the scoring but, while the Spanish striker can have few complaints after scoring one goal in his last 13 appearances, he isn't the only one to look short of motivation and inspiration.
With League One Brentford desperate to inflict more misery on their west London neighbours, Chelsea can't afford to underestimate a team who came close to a shock win in the 2-2 draw at Griffin Park last month.
Serbia international Ivanovic acknowledges that Chelsea's lack of consistency over the course of the campaign is a worrying trend.
"We go up and down this season," he said. "We have to look at ourselves and our performance.