Chelsea midfielder Cesc Fabregas admits he 'forgot how to play football' during darkest days of Jose Mourinho's reign

The 28-year-old's confidence bottomed out during the defending champions' calamitous run at the start of the season

Fabregas lost faith in his own ability during Chelsea's early season slump (2016 Getty Images)

Cesc Fabregas has revealed that he felt as though he had forgotten how to play football during the darkest days of Jose Mourinho’s reign at Chelsea.

The 28-year-old midfielder’s confidence dipped during his side’s dismal start to the season, which saw the defending Premier League champions mired in the table’s lower reaches at Christmas.

Mourinho, the most successful manager in Chelsea’s history, was dismissed in December and though his temporary replacement Guus Hiddink has arrested their slide, the club remain on course for their lowest Premier League finish in twenty years.

Fabregas has now admitted that he lost confidence in his ability as Chelsea struggled to recapture the form which had propelled them to the title just seven months earlier.

"One time after a game, after Bournemouth, I was in bed and I spoke to my wife," he told Goal. "I forgot how to play football, I have the ball and I don't know what to do with it.

Chelsea lost 1-0 to Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge in the first week of December, with Mourinho’s dismissal following their next league fixture, a 2-1 away defeat at Leicester City.

"It was hard, those two or three months from November, when I had no confidence," Fabregas added.

"Everything has changed in the last few months, I'm playing very well. Most importantly, it isn't how you get [knocked] down, it's how you get back up. I can be better now."

Fabregas and his team-mates have the opportunity to take revenge on Bournemouth on Saturday as they travel to the Vitality Stadium for the reverse fixture.