Cesc Fabregas says the Chelsea players are to blame for the club's woeful form this season.

Although Jose Mourinho's team secured a place in the last 16 of the Champions League last week, a 2-1 defeat at Leicester City on Monday left them 16th in the Premier League table, just one point clear of the relegation zone.

Following the match, Mourinho claimed the players had "betrayed" his work, and Spain midfielder Fabregas admitted he and his team-mates need to play to their expected levels.

"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," Fabregas said at an event held at Facebook in London.

"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 feels retaining the Premier League title is now beyond Chelsea, with their focus just on winning the next match - which is against fellow strugglers Sunderland on Saturday.

The former Arsenal and Barcelona man added: "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. We've put ourselves in this position and we must now prove that we can start winning."