Chelsea Need to Drop the Small-Club Act If They’re to Get Back to Winning Ways

STAMFORD BRIDGE, London — Well, that was fun while it lasted. Sore heads or not come Tuesday morning, now’s the time for sober minds at Chelsea.

The elation of denying Tottenham Hotspur the Premier League title has atoned for some of the wrongs Blues fans have experienced this season, but it’s only a temporary emotion.

When the drama from their 2-2 draw with Spurs subsides, and all those associated with Chelsea reflect on 2015/16, they will do well to remember just how bad things really got.

It’s not enough for a club of Chelsea’s size to be celebrating a draw in the manner they did. We understand why it happened that way, but it’s not where they want to be.

Harry Kane summed it up in his post-match interview with Match of the Day. “When the ex-champions are celebrating like they won the league at the end, it shows we’re doing something right,” he said.

Blues’ fans will point to the bragging rights in this fixture still being theirs. It remains 26 years and counting since Spurs last earned a victory at Stamford Bridge, and despite winning over their critics, it’s because of Chelsea that another season has gone by with no trophy in the White Hart Lane cabinet.

If this is to be in isolation, then fine. If it becomes a habit in west London, then Chelsea have big problems. To avoid it getting there, the focus must shift.

From having nothing to play for since early March, the fixture list was kind to Chelsea. Playing Spurs on Monday, they still have Leicester to face on the final day of the season. Had results gone another way, they may have had another chance to impact the title race before 2015/16 was out.

It’s a quirk that has added to the drama of it all, that Chelsea of all teams could be given the chance to really scupper the hopes and dreams of one of their fiercest …

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