Eden Hazard is keen to make a fresh start with Chelsea after an underwhelming 2015-16 campaign and wants his team-mates to replicate the form that saw them win the Premier League title in 2014-15.
Chelsea had to settle for 10th place in the table last term and Hazard is desperate to do better this time around under new manager Antonio Conte.
The Italian takes charge of his first competitive game on Monday as Chelsea welcome West Ham to Stamford Bridge.
“Everybody needs to be the same player as two years ago. We tried to find a lot of excuses for why we didn’t play well last season, but we don’t know why. Maybe some players were tired, but we need to be focused and train hard to be ready,” Hazard told Sky Sports.
“It’s a fresh start. We have one objective together, to do better than last season. We try to forget last season and be ready for the future.
“The most important thing for me is to get on the ball and score goals and make the difference. The manager speaks a lot to the players and brings a lot of confidence, because we know last season was not good enough and we are trying for a new dynamic and to start the season well.”
Chelsea failed to qualify for European football last season, but Hazard believes their absence from the Champions League could be a positive.
“It’s the first time since I came here I will not be playing Champions League or Europa League. For us it’s new, but we need to adapt, one game for one week, and we will see how we can do,” he added.
“We have a lot of rest in the week. For recovery it’s very good, sometimes in the Champions League you travel far and come back late. Sometimes it’s difficult. Now we just have one game and we need to concentrate on this game.”
