Oscar has urged his Chelsea team-mates to continue the upturn in form they showed at the weekend to ease the pressure on Jose Mourinho.
Defeat to Bournemouth last week left the champions just two points above the relegation zone as the domestic season approaches its halfway point, but Chelsea were much improved in midweek as they booked their spot in the Champions League last 16 with a 2-0 win over Porto.
It helped to ease the pressure on Mourinho, whose future at the club has become a matter for debate amid the club’s current crisis, with the board even taking the step of issuing a public backing for the manager after defeat to Southampton in September.
Brazilian midfielder Oscar has now insisted that the players must take responsibility for turning around their stuttering season, starting with Monday’s trip to table-topping Leicester.
Chelsea vs Porto - player ratings
“We need to win two or three more games to keep confidence high,” he told the Mirror.
“It’s difficult. When the team loses, everyone says something about the players and Jose.
“So we need to win again for everyone, continue to have confidence, not just for us, but for Jose.”
Though they at times lacked a cutting edge in front of goal Chelsea were vastly improved against Porto compared to insipid recent league outings and Oscar admitted Chelsea still have not got to the bottom of the issue.
“It’s difficult to explain why our performances can be so different, but we need to play as well as we did against Porto in the league as well. We need to win the next game.
“The Premier League is very important for us. We needed the win against Porto to change the season. Now we need to win more games, not just that one.”
