The Blues travel to Hill Dickinson Stadium to play Everton having been knocked out of the Champions League, with our two defeats to Paris Saint-Germain having a 1-0 loss to Newcastle United sandwiched in-between.

The race to qualify for the Champions League next season is intensifying, with the Blues jostling with Manchester United, Liverpool and Aston Villa in particular. Delap believes focus and consistency will be the key as the season draws to a close.

‘We’ve had a tough few weeks and the results haven’t gone the way we’d hoped, but the mentality among the group is still that we have a lot to play for,’ said the striker.

‘We have to stay mentally strong. To win championships and competitions you have to be at your best all the time. The games come so fast and we have so many now you always have to be switched on...We’ve had a taste of what the Champions League is like and a club like Chelsea has to be in the Champions League, so we have to focus really hard and make sure we get there by the end of the season.’

This calendar year, Delap has been reunited with Liam Rosenior, his former head coach at Hull City.

The 23-year-old acknowledges it has not been easy for Rosenior to implement tactical alterations at Cobham because of the packed schedule and the requirement to recover between games, but the past few months have nonetheless been highly beneficial.

He said: ‘It’s tough coming in when you’ve not had a full pre-season and you can get your ideas across without having games. We’ve had a game every three days since he’s come in but the messages he’s delivered to the boys and how training and meetings have been has really helped us.

‘Hopefully we can keep building on that and get more information and understand him even more.’