Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has claimed his Premier League table toppers have a long way to go before they reach their potential despite their sparkling start to the season.
Mourinho's Blues have been impressive in their first five Premier League fixtures of the season and were it not for a late equaliser from their former midfielder Frank Lampard for Manchester City last weekend, they would have maximum points from heading into Saturday's game against Aston Villa.
Despite that serene progress, Mourinho suggests there is plenty of room for Chelsea to crank through another few gears in the weeks and months ahead.
"We have to improve in every aspect, no doubt," stressed Mourinho. "I don't go for six, seven or eight [marks] out of 10, but we can improve.
"We were deadly on the counter-attack against Everton [won 6-3], we were fantastic with the way we defended collectively against Man City.
"We've had very good periods, but, in the end, what is important is that in this moment nobody is ahead of us. We look down and see the other 19 teams. Nobody is on top of us."
Meanwhile, Mourinho has suggested the members of his squad who played in the latter stages of the World Cup finals in Brazil are struggling to hit top form after their excesses with their international sides in June and July.
"I need them and I need them step by step," he said of his Brazil 2014 stars. "Not one of them is in super form, like [Cesc] Fabregas, [Nemanja] Matic, [Branislav] Ivanovic. At this moment, they're not. It has to be step by step.
"In this last part of the World Cup, we had players in the same position: Ramires, Willian, Oscar and [Andre] Schurrle. I couldn't say 'you four, holidays, I can do without you,' because I couldn't do without them.
"Look at Schurrle. He really wanted to make an impact against Bolton [in the Capital One Cup on Wednesday], and his performance was really good. It was important for him to play 90 minutes.
"He was one of the guys, like the Brazilians, who reached the last stage of the World Cup, his holiday was very short. It will take time for him."
