Caicedo has been one of the standout players of Chelsea’s push into the Premier League’s top four this season, putting in another impressive performance when we defeated West Ham United on Monday evening.

The Ecuadorian is someone Cucurella knows well, having also played alongside him in England prior to their respective moves to west London.

‘He is very important,’ said Cucurella, when asked about Caicedo’s strong form. ‘I knew him at Brighton as well, as we were team-mates there.

‘He is very important, he is very relaxed. He shows everything on the pitch, he’s very hard-working and he’s a very important piece for us. I think he’s one of the main talents of the team and he shows every game what he can give to us.

‘We’re really happy for him and I’m really happy because I know his first games here were tough as well, but he worked really hard and now he deserves all these moments.’

Cucurella also discussed the performances of Jackson, with the striker finding goals more difficult to come by in recent weeks, with all nine of his strikes so far this season coming before the turn of the year. However, our Spanish defender pointed out there is much more to his game which is helping the team.

The left-back said: ‘For all strikers it is important to score and Nico gives a lot to the team. He presses very well, he does good movements for other players, it’s all part of football.

‘Everyone needs to have a tough moment during the season, but the important thing is we are with him. He is playing a lot so, for sure, if he continues training like this he can score goals in the games.’

The left-back further pointed out that it is getting more and more difficult for Jackson and the rest of our attacking players.

Having put ourselves firmly in top-four contention with some impressive results during the first half of this season, Cucurella has seen a change of approach from the away teams visiting Stamford Bridge, but hopes with the support of our fans we can turn the tables by making our home a fortress following the come-from-behind win over West Ham.

‘We came from a tough moment but Monday was very important for us, being at home and getting three points,’ added Marc. ‘I think we deserved it, the team showed our character because we were losing at half-time and we could come back. We had to suffer again, but it was a really important win.

‘Now the teams that come here just to defend and play on the counter-attack, so it’s difficult. To attack against 10 or 11 players behind the ball is difficult, but we need to stick with our plan and stay patient, because in the end on Monday we stayed with our plan and could come back in the game.

‘It is very important because I think teams are starting to respect us, they know that maybe they cannot play face-to-face against us, they maybe need to go to a defensive system, play a defensive game. But this is part of us doing things well, so we are happy and we need to play against this.

‘For sure the support is very important, one of the most important things in the club. When they help us we feel more confident, like we play with an extra man. The direction of the team is very good, after the first goal they showed their love, their passion and we could score another one, and they helped us as well at the end.

‘So we are really happy. All of us, the players and the fans, we need to create a good relationship and then we need to have our stadium being a difficult place to come for the other teams.’