While the Blues are already assured of a place in the knockout rounds of the Champions League and well placed to secure top spot in our group as we travel to Russia for our last game of this stage, following the 4-0 win over Juventus last time out in the competition, our form has faltered slightly in the Premier League recently.

Despite some eye-catching results, including hitting the net 13 times without reply across the big wins over Newcastle United, Norwich City and Leicester City, we dropped points in draws with Burnley and Manchester United, before suffering only our second league defeat of the season away at West Ham United on Saturday.

However, Loftus-Cheek seems confident that the Blues can put those disappointments behind us and recapture our thrilling form from earlier this season, starting against Zenit tomorrow.

‘I guess that’s football for you, it can change very quickly sometimes,’ he said. ‘It’s not like we’ve been playing terribly at all, we’ve just had a few mistakes that have cost us and we need to take ownership of that. But apart from that, we’ve been playing some really good football, the results just haven’t shown that at all.

‘We need to make sure that the basics of our game are taken care of and are sharp. If we keep the basics at a high level then the mistakes will go and that will give us a good platform to win games.’

Loftus-Cheek also spoke to the media about his personal situation before the game in Saint Petersburg, having returned from a loan spell with Fulham last season as he looked to complete his recovery from a serious injury, and forced his way into Thomas Tuchel’s midfield plans over the last couple of months, despite the wealth of talent at our head coach’s disposal in that position.

‘Obviously I’ve had to be patient and there’s a lot of good players at Chelsea, especially in the midfield department. A few injuries and I’ve been put in and I have to be ready. I feel like I have been ready, I feel good physically, then it’s about being able to step up, as a team and an individual. When players are injured you have to do a job, but I feel like I’m ready to do that.

‘I’m really enjoying it, mainly because I’m on the pitch and playing a lot of football, which I haven’t done in the past few seasons. So because of that I’m very grateful to be fit and to be able to play. Wherever I play I’m comfortable, I played deep in my younger days and I’m very much enjoying doing it again. It comes with different duties, but I’m enjoying it so I’m ready to play and I’m ready to play wherever the boss needs me.’

The 25-year-old also credited Tuchel with helping him to put his disappointing loan with Fulham behind him, following their relegation from the Premier League last season, allowing Loftus-Cheek to focus on getting back to his best with the Blues during the current campaign and forcing his way back into contention.

‘I think he was very understanding of how difficult it was coming back from that injury and going on loan to Fulham,’ he added. ‘We kind of put it behind us and focused on what was happening at that moment. I felt good coming back in pre-season, but for me it was just focusing on pre-season and training well and playing well. That’s all I could do, I can’t dwell on the past. Fulham was a very difficult spell for me, so I had to put that behind me.

‘I came back in pre-season and I felt really good. I felt the most physically fit I’ve been and that gave me a good platform to do well – train well and play well. I always wanted to keep my head down and give it a go and see how things panned out and it turns out I’m playing a lot. You never know how football turns out, it changes a lot.’