Cech: Transition no excuse

Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech says his team’s period of transition cannot be used as an excuse for finishing the season without silverware.

Andre Villas-Boas made his fourth major signing since his arrival, with Bolton defender Gary Cahill joining on Monday, and he has also been boosted by the return of Michael Essien, who made his first appearance of the season in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Sunderland.

Chelsea are 11 points behind Premier League leaders Manchester City, and although the club are beginning to replace an ageing squad, Cech insists there is no reason why the west London outfit cannot secure a trophy this season.

“We set a standard in recent years, and that’s the way it is at a big club – especially here,” Cech said.

“We want, ourselves, to win something. We don’t want to go another season without trophies, so our aim is to end this season with silverware.”

“We’re doing everything in our power to achieve that, alongside the transformation and transition of the team. I think it will be a good year to build on for the future.”

The Czech Republic shot-stopper compared the club’s situation to that of his national side and insisted that any changes need time to work.

“I’ve lived this in the last few years with the Czech national team,” he said.

“We had two generations of players who basically retired at the same time, and it takes time to recover.”

“It took us nearly three years to rebuild the team and now we are grateful that we managed to qualify for the Euros.”

“That is a big achievement as a result with such a new team.”

“You can see this team, there have been changes in recent years because you can’t stop players ageing.”

“It’s normal in a top club that people change. We changed the manager and a bit of the philosophy, so it needs time.”