We host the West Midlands side at Stamford Bridge this afternoon in the first of our final four Premier League games this season, with Champions League qualification still to play for in addition to an FA Cup final against Liverpool on the horizon.

With no midweek game meaning a chance to recharge the batteries during a full five days between matches, a rare situation for the Blues during a busy campaign, Mendy feels we need to make sure we are fully prepared for what is set to be a challenging end to the season.

‘It’s been a while since we had a midweek without a game,’ said the goalkeeper. ‘For me, it’s the first time since December I have had two days off. So it was nice, and now we can be focused on the next game today.

‘It’s not going to be easy and it’s not going to be easy until the end of the season, because then we play Leeds away, which is the same situation as Everton, and we have also the FA Cup final and league games against Leicester and Watford.

‘So it will not be easy until the end of the season and that’s why we have to be ready for the coming games and to play on our best level.’

Mendy and his Chelsea team-mates are looking to bounce back and return to winning ways against Wolves at the Bridge, following our 1-0 defeat away at Everton last Sunday, with the Senegal international in no doubt we need to show an improvement on that performance to get the result today, as any drop in form is ruthlessly punished in the Premier League.

‘I think we all know that game was not good and the result as well, because we wanted to win to secure the top four but we did not. Now we have a big opportunity today to move ahead for the top four, so we have to be ready and for sure be better than last week.

‘We were disappointed because we wanted to win. We know the situation for Everton, they were not in a good position, it was almost their last chance to survive in the Premier League, and we were not good enough to win that game. They wanted it more than us and in the end they won.

‘I think that’s the difference between the English league and maybe the other leagues, because every three days it’s a big battle and you cannot be at 80 per cent because they will come for you and every team wants to beat you.

‘Even if you play at home or away, the teams play for a win, so that makes a difference and we could see that, for example, against Brentford. We went away for the international break, most of the players, and Brentford were more ready than us and they beat us in intensity, aggressiveness and also with the ball.

‘So if you are not ready or you are not at 100 per cent you cannot win a game in the Premier League.’

Mendy conceded he is not happy with the performances of himself or the team in recent weeks, as we have slipped below our usual high standards and failed to maintain our excellent form from earlier in the season, but wants to put that behind him as he focuses on finishing 2021/22 as strongly as possible.

‘You can’t say until the end of the season, but now I think the season has been good, but we could do better, I could do better, especially in the last month.

‘It’s been a bit up and down and it’s a little bit unusual for us because we showed that we are always consistent in every game in the competitions that we play. I think it’s the first time since last year we have these kind of results.

‘It’s a long season. Of course we play a lot of games so I think we suffer fatigue, physically and mentally, but it’s not an excuse. We know as a Chelsea player you will play more than 50 games, we all knew that before, but the truth is that we were not good enough in the last month to stay at our standard.

‘So we are a little bit upset because we know what we could do. Now we still have the four games and the FA Cup final so we can finish the season well.’