Chelsea skipper Gary Cahill has revealed that he feels he no longer needs to prove anything to anyone.
The England international has come in for some heavy criticism this season and has found himself left out of Antonio Conte’s starting XI on several occasions in recent months.
He has however returned to the starting line up in recent weeks which has coincided with the Blues winning their last three games, including last weekend’s FA Cup semi-final against Southampton.
The 32-year-old centre-back has admitted that he finds the constant questioning about whether he deserves a regular place at Stamford Bridge tiring.
“I realise the manager has decisions to make. I realise I’m not getting any younger. I don’t feel like I need to prove anything. I’ve proven it before, time and time again. It gets tiring after a bit, if I’m honest. Maybe that’s just football, maybe that’s just the way my past has gone, I don’t know.” Cahill told the Guardian.
Chelsea have been on a poor run of form in 2018 and look likely to finish outside of the top four, despite winning the Premier League comfortably last season.
Cahill admits it will be very difficult to catch Spurs or Liverpool to finish in the Champions League qualification spots with just four games remaining, although he added that he believes winning the FA Cup can salvage the Blues season,
“The league has not gone as expected. We realise the history says to win it back to back and keep winning the league season after season is very difficult. We have not managed to do that this year,” He said.
“So, if we did manage to win the FA Cup, it would somewhat rescue the season.
“There’s no point shying away from that. It’s a huge trophy. [In the league] all we can do now is try to win our games. The gap is big and you’re looking at some very good teams above us so I would be very surprised if they slipped.”
