Chelsea Need to Drop the Small-Club Act If They're to Get Back to Winning Ways

STAMFORD BRIDGE, London — Well, that was fun while it lasted. Sore heads or not come Tuesday morning, now's the time for sober minds at Chelsea.

The elation of denying Tottenham Hotspur the Premier League title has atoned for some of the wrongs Blues fans have experienced this season, but it's only a temporary emotion.

When the drama from their 2-2 draw with Spurs subsides, and all those associated with Chelsea reflect on 2015/16, they will do well to remember just how bad things really got.

It's not enough for a club of Chelsea's size to be celebrating a draw in the manner they did. We understand why it happened that way, but it's not where they want to be.

Harry Kane summed it up in his post-match interview with Match of the Day. "When the ex-champions are celebrating like they won the league at the end, it shows we're doing something right," he said.

Blues' fans will point to the bragging rights in this fixture still being theirs. It remains 26 years and counting since Spurs last earned a victory at Stamford Bridge, and despite winning over their critics, it's because of Chelsea that another season has gone by with no trophy in the White Hart Lane cabinet.

If this is to be in isolation, then fine. If it becomes a habit in west London, then Chelsea have big problems. To avoid it getting there, the focus must shift.

From having nothing to play for since early March, the fixture list was kind to Chelsea. Playing Spurs on Monday, they still have Leicester to face on the final day of the season. Had results gone another way, they may have had another chance to impact the title race before 2015/16 was out.

It's a quirk that has added to the drama of it all, that Chelsea of all teams could be given the chance to really scupper the hopes and dreams of one of their fiercest rivals. It gave them a sense of purpose again; it got Stamford Bridge rocking like it hasn't in a long while.

The problem on Monday was that Chelsea played against Spurs as though they were a small team. Their performance was fueled by nothing more than adrenaline and a deep-seated dislike of their opponents. It showed.

Mauricio Pochettino's side were the better team. Spurs don't have the better individual players throughout their starting XI, but as a team they are superior to Chelsea in this moment.

It took the Blues to summon up the spirit of old to claw their way back from 2-0 down. When they charged at Spurs, the feeling of anxiety running from dugout to pitch was palpable.

Chelsea got Spurs scared, not by outplaying them, but by getting in their faces. The was no method or master plan.

That's how cup upsets happen and in many ways, this game was played in the traditions of a cup tie.

We've seen it many times before. Small team lacks class and quality, so they make up for it with endeavour. If only that could last, we might see more lower-league sides reaching the FA Cup final and winning it.

Simply wanting something more is a very Anglo-Saxon way of looking at things. If it really came down to that principle, being a professional footballer wouldn't be the elite trade it is.

Cup football is about one-offs and that can prove a leveler at times. Although every team struggles to rise to the occasion in every round and eventually quality wins out. It's why league titles are won on consistency and not passion alone.

Seldom have we seen Chelsea play like that in a league match in the Roman Abramovich era. In the early to mid-1990s, when they would regularly beat the likes of Manchester United to upset the status quo, it was a reality. Not since they became a scalp themselves, though.

This season, from struggling near the foot of the table to eventually climbing into the top half, Chelsea have regressed to that way of thinking. The focus has started to fall on how they can drag other clubs down with them, notably Spurs.

Indeed, when Chelsea beat Arsenal in January to complete the double over them this term, celebrating that win seemed more about what it meant to the Gunners than it did the Blues' own ambitions.

That can't continue. Now that Antonio Conte is stepping into the fray, Chelsea have to realign their perspective. The club needs to start acting like one of the elite again otherwise the trials of tribulations of 2015/16 will go on being repeated.

It's a frame of mind that Jose Mourinho introduced over a decade ago. When the Portuguese took over from Claudio Ranieri, mediocrity was off the table. Chelsea became about so much more than we had known them to be. The players who played under the Portuguese delivered time and again.

The scenes at Stamford Bridge on Monday night were a celebration of mediocrity. Again, we shouldn't underestimate the feeling that comes with getting one over a bitter rival, regardless of the circumstances. But how long can Chelsea go on celebrating the failures of others without looking at themselves?

The Spurs match has gone. Chelsea have enjoyed the moment. Now let normal service resume.

Garry Hayes is Bleacher Report's lead Chelsea correspondent. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter @garryhayes