Chelsea still have plenty to play for this season despite being out of contention for European places and with no domestic or European trophy to play for in the final month of the campaign.
It is a sentiment that Frank Lampard has agreed with throughout his tenure as interim boss, too. Even after his side were dumped out of the Champions League by Real Madrid last month, Lampard reiterated his message to the players.
"I don't have a mentality that there's nothing to play for," he explained. "You won't compete absolutely every season, it comes down to personal pride and responsibility.
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"The schedule was always going to be a challenge but we knew that coming in, with games coming thick and fast. That period's gone, so it gives us time to work in between. There are always a lot of challenges. Football is about challenges and you have to tackle them head on.
"The run-in is really tough, so my interest is to see how the players react to that."
That message didn't appear to get through to his team after they fell to a 2-0 defeat against Brentford and then followed it up with a limp 3-1 loss to Arsenal one week later. There was finally a reason to cheer for the fans, though, when Lampard got his first win as caretaker coach, beating Bournemouth 3-1.
Outside of securing their place in the Premier League next season, an almost hilarious statement of its own, the victory pushed Chelsea back above Crystal Palace and put a top-half finish back onto the cards.
It is a small semblance of positivity for supporters but it will make a different for the owners. With four games left to play the Blues can add an extra 12 points to their total. That would bring them up to 54.
Although it is still a major drop-off and failure of a campaign, there is a chance it could push them up to ninth in the league. They are six points behind 10th-place Fulham with a game in hand. The issue here is that three of the remaining four games come against the top four sides.
Chelsea face Nottingham Forest at Stamford Bridge before finishing the season with matches against Newcastle, Manchester United and Manchester City, still to play both away games against the latter pair.
Little to play for on the pitch but for the owners there is a lot to lose and still a fair bit to gain. Due to Premier League financial rewards, Chelsea could yet drop to as low as 15th in the table - though 14th is the most realistic low due to goal difference.
That would put their total payment from the league - built from market share, TV money and final position - at £90m ($113.6m) whereas finishing in ninth would bring in £100m ($126.3m).
Given the financial fair play threat hanging over the club due to lavish transfer spending and lack of European bonus on the horizon, every little helps and that £10m ($12.6m) gap between a best and worst case scenario could make all the difference. It is, for example, a price comparable with the loan fee for Joao Felix.
The Portuguese forward isn't expected to be purchased for full price this summer but should a loan deal be achievable it is a move that may well be replicated next term.
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