Chelsea ace Michael Essien has charged his team-mates to reverse their downward spiral by working hard as their season seems to be on the skids.
The 29-year-old returned to action after a six-month injury-induced absence two months and has since made some cameos for the Blues.
Chelsea have slipped to fifth place and are in danger of missing a UEFA Champions League spot for next season.
The Blues will have to play the remainder of the season under stop-gap coach Roberto Di Matteo following the dismissal of Portuguese Andre Villas-Boas last Sunday.
Essien, who was rested in Tuesday�s 2-0 win over Birmingham City in the FA Cup replay, is seeking improvement.
�It has been frustrating and unfortunately the season hasn�t gone to plan,� Essien said.
�Football is full of highs and lows and as much as we enjoy the highs of winning trophies we have to work hard to reverse the lows of disappointing results.
�It�s not been easy but tough times call for tough characters and as long as we keep working hard with Roberto Di Matteo and stick together we will come out victorious.
�Hard work hasn�t killed anyone yet and that is what we have to do to keep our season going.�
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