Antonio Conte has claimed that the low goal return from Chelsea's attackers has made the likelihood of a Premier League top-four finish "very difficult".
The Blues' top league scorer this term has been Eden Hazard, with 12 goals, while Alvaro Morata - who moved to Stamford Bridge for a club-record £70m in the summer - has netted just 11 times.
Chelsea's 1-0 win over Swansea City on Saturday closed the gap between themselves and fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur to two points with three games left, but Conte was left to reflect on his forwards' mediocre goal tallies.
"Our top scorer has scored only 12 goals," the Chelsea boss told Sky Sports News after his 50th Premier League victory.
"And if your best scorer has scored only 12 goals it means it is very difficult to fight for something this season. This is the reality, the stats speak very well.
"I think we could be more clinical to kill the game [against Swansea]. But instead we kept the game in the balance and it happened against West Ham the same.
"We dominated and created many chances but we scored only one goal, and in the final Swansea had the chance to draw. I think this season we are not clinical."
Chelsea have scored 60 goals in their 35 league fixtures so far, the lowest tally in the top six.