LONDON, Dec 3 — Mauricio Pochettino admits his Chelsea players have been their own worst enemies during their rocky run this season.

Pochettino’s side were thrashed 4-1 at Newcastle last weekend in a painful setback following their impressive performances against Tottenham and Manchester City.

Chelsea had demolished Tottenham before battling back to draw with champions City, but Pochettino conceded the positive vibes from those results had been erased by their meltdown at St James’ Park.

The Blues’ inconsistency has been a thorn in Pochettino’s side since he took over in July, with only four wins in 13 league matches.

Pochettino said it had been a week of soul-searching at the club’s Cobham training ground as he tries to iron out his team’s issues.

"It was a tough week for everyone,” Pochettino told reporters on Friday. "I’m very happy because the players reacted really well. We blame ourselves because our approach (at Newcastle) maybe was wrong.

"But the week was good to realise what we need to improve. We need to be more consistent and mature. I’m very, very happy so far. It was tough in training and in meetings, but sometimes this type of situation helps you to improve a lot.

"The important thing is not to look at the end of the season, but to see the process and to improve every day. That’s the most difficult thing always in this type of process, to be focused on today and not on tomorrow.

"We beat Tottenham, had an amazing game against Manchester City, then we lose against Newcastle. We are our worst enemies and we need to be focused on us.”

Speaking ahead of Sunday’s Premier League clash with Brighton at Stamford Bridge, Pochettino added that he had not held back in showing his anger to the players following the surrender to Newcastle.

"The players know very well how my mood was,” he said. "I’m not going to act. I’m not going to show a face that I don’t feel.

"I think it’s important the players feel the coaches in a natural way when we are angry, when we’re happy we’re happy. We were tough in our analysis, but tough is about telling the truth.” — AFP