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Chelsea striker Diego Costa has admitted that he returned to the club’s pre-season camp overweight during the summer, according to Marca. Costa and teammate Ramires are the few players in the club who are not on international duty and they have made themselves available at the club’s Cobham training ground.
The West London club have made the worst start to their season in 37 years, and the Brazillian-born-Spanish player is one of the players at the club who has had a dip in form since making a stunning league debut last season. The 27-year-old has scored just one Premier League goal this season so far and Costa has revealed the reason to his slow start in the new campaign.
“I’m going to be very honest. Maybe five or six weeks ago, I was not on top of my game. At least physically,” he said.
“We talk among ourselves and we know that maybe at the beginning we were not 100 per cent as we were supposed to be when we got here.
“I got injured at the end of the season and then I went on holiday. Maybe I ignored my diet and when I came back I was not the way I was supposed to be. I was a little bit overweight. That affected my game.”
He further added: “You can be selfish and blame it on the manager but I’m not going to do that. I’m responsible 100 per cent and so are the other guys. We know we’re not in the best form we were supposed to be at the beginning of the season.
“Because all the work we do here is fantastic. We needed some time and now we are where we want to be.”
Costa backs Mourinho to lead the club in these difficult times
Costa has been under the spotlight recently for his infamous antics against Arsenal earlier this season. He had been charged by the FA for his misconduct and is currently undergoing a three-match ban. The former Atletico Madrid striker was also left out of Vicente del Bosque’s squad for the Euro qualifiers, but he has been given Mourinho’s backing.
The striker remains adamant that the Portuguese manager is the best man to change Chelsea’s fortunes around this season and his teammates feel the same way.
“He is always giving us all the support we need, and the players talk to each other and say he is the best manager you can have,” Costa said.
“Always when things don't go the way that everyone expects, people, the supporters as well, always look for someone to blame.
"In some cases they blame the players. In this case, they blame the manager, maybe because the manager is Mourinho. Maybe he gets criticised because he is very good. Maybe he gets criticised because he is Mourinho. I have been here for more than a season and have seen sides that have lost many more games than Chelsea, and no one criticises their managers.
“I'm here because I'm happy with the manager but I'm not only speaking on my behalf. I am here to speak for everyone, for the group. All that matters at the end of the day is the group. Yes, he has supported me, but he has shown support for all of the players.
"I have spoken to all of the players and they all feel the same way about Jose. I don't like giving interviews, but I'm speaking for the group. We all feel the same way about Jose."
