Thomas Tuchel admits Chelsea's "marriage" with the returning Romelu Lukaku has failed to deliver rewards so far, but has stressed the striker's fortunes could yet change.
The Belgium international returned to Stamford Bridge last summer after a successful spell with Inter in Serie A, but has so far failed to live up the hype that heralded his arrival.
A glaring miss in Chelsea's midweek Champions League loss to Real Madrid increased the pressure, but now his coach says that while the reunion has not quite fired yet, the club still firmly believe in his potential.
What has been said?
"We can't blame Romelu," Tuchel stated ahead of his side's trip to Southampton this weekend. "Among other things, he entered at 3-1 [down], even if he then missed a good chance.
"Lukaku didn't destabilise us. He is a professional and recently trained very well. We bought [him] because we believed and still believe in him.
Next Match
"Of course, the marriage hasn't gone well so far. We have to admit it. But it's not over – in football everything can change in an instant."