Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca does not believe his side are in the Premier League title race despite sitting third in the table.
Victory over Aston Villa on Sunday would be a seventh in 13 league games under the Italian who has made an impactful start since succeeding Mauricio Pochettino in the summer.
After inheriting a five-match winning streak with which the team finished last season, Maresca has masterminded the club's most consistent spell since Todd Boehly's Clearlake Capital consortium took charge two-and-a-half years ago.
They are in the hunt to return to the Champions League after two seasons away, though just as significant has been the 44-year-old's success in creating order out of what looked a bloated, unbalanced squad when he took over.
Despite the rapid progress made under his leadership, Maresca was eager to play down suggestions Chelsea could be the team to end Manchester City's four-year title streak this season.
"No," he said when asked whether the Blues were in the race. "I said many times I didn't like the pressure. I didn't like to say yes we are there, but we are not there.
"Arsenal are ahead of us, City is ahead of us, Liverpool showing they are ahead of us. The important thing is we improve game after game and then we will see.
"For me, it is not about points or the table, it is about the process and the programme. Five years together (Arsenal), nine together (City). Liverpool is different but they didn't make too many changes from before. It's not about the points difference on the table, it is about the time together."
Chelsea are currently nine points behind leaders Liverpool and a point behind City, but with the top two meeting at Anfield on Sunday it could be an opportunity for them to make up ground.
Following the game against Unai Emery's side at Stamford Bridge they face back-to-back away games against bottom-side Southampton and Tottenham before a run of seven matches against sides none of whom are currently in the top eight.
"You have to be realistic," cautioned Maresca. "You can see the difference between us and the rest in this moment. It doesn't mean we are not going to compete and win games. We will do that to the end. The main focus has to be the feeling we are improving game after game."
Chelsea's most recent Premier League outing, a 2-1 win against Maresca's former club Leicester, saw a recall for Enzo Fernandez, who had been left out of Chelsea's previous three league line-ups.
The Argentina World Cup winner turned in one of his stronger performances in blue, scoring the team's second goal in the second half to effectively wrap up the game.
"Enzo is doing well since we started," said Maresca. "For some games, I take different decisions - it doesn't mean they are out. If they think on the bench they are doing bad, it is not like this.
"The game plan requires different kinds of players and that's the reason why sometimes we go for Moises (Caicedo) and Romeo (Lavia). We can go in future with Romeo and Enzo or Romeo, Enzo and Moises. It depends on the game."
Additional reporting from PA
