Cesc Fabregas has said Chelsea's players must take responsibility for their poor Premier League form this season.
Chelsea's 2-1 loss at Leicester City on Monday night left them a point above the relegation zone after 16 matches played this campaign.
Blues manager Jose Mourinho accused his players of betraying his work after the Premier League champions suffered their ninth league defeat of the term, and Fabregas accepts he and his teammates need to improve.
The midfielder is quoted by Sky Sports as saying: "We will all have to take responsibility. If you are a big player and paid like a big player, you must play like a big player and behave like a big player."
"I am not saying you can't have a bad season and bad games. We all have big players and small players, but the attitude must be spot on. We must always be at the top of our games, even when it's not and not the behaviour that we are seeing right now from every Chelsea player."
Fabregas is seeking a response from the club against Sunderland this Saturday, after Mourinho ruled out Chelsea finishing in the top four this season.
The Spain international said: "Confidence is important until a certain point. At the end of the day, as a player you have pride. We cannot win the Premier League right now, but we must do better.
"Right now is not the time to think of where we might finish, we've been saying it almost all season.
"I don't think about anything apart from wanting to beat Sunderland, play my best and that's it. Right now, no one is easy as it currently shows. We've put ourselves in this position and we must now prove that we can start winning."