Chelsea goalkeeping legend Petr Cech has admitted that he is 'very surprised' by his former club's lowly Premier League position.

The Blues, who cruised to the title last season with a record number of wins, currently find themselves five points outside the top four.

Having also crashed out of the Champions League to Barcelona in midweek, Cech believes that a lack of confidence could be to blame for Chelsea's difficult second campaign under manager Antonio Conte.

"Well it's very hard to tell you know," he told BBC Sport. "The team has stayed more or less together obviously and the manager stayed there and he got the chance.

"When you win the league in your first season it's the best possible start because obviously people get to trust you. I think you make yourself a name and the players know you, the continuity can be there.

"So sometimes it is very surprising when the odd season goes completely wrong. It might be just the fact that something goes slightly different and you try to think too much about it and then once you get in a few bad results on the spin it can change the confidence of the team."

Chelsea battled past Leicester City on Sunday afternoon to set up an FA Cup semi-final showdown with Southampton next month.