Cesc Fabregas has said that he "forgot how to play football" in the final months of Jose Mourinho's reign as Chelsea manager.
Mourinho left Stamford Bridge for the second time in December, having presided over a disastrous first half of the season and what technical director Michael Emenalo described as "palpable discord" between the players and management.
Fabregas was forced to publicly deny reports that he had actively worked to undermine Mourinho in the manager's final weeks, and was one of several players booed by Chelsea supporters during a 3-1 home win over Sunderland days after the manager's sacking.
Earlier this week Fabregas said that he remains on good terms with Mourinho, and he insists that his poor performances from August to December were the result of a crisis of confidence.
"There was a moment after the Bournemouth game where I was in bed. I was so disappointed, so sad, and I said to my wife: 'I just forgot how to play football,'" Fabregas told Goal.
"It wasn't me out there. You have the ball and you don't know what to do with it.
"Those two or three months were hard. I wasn't feeling confident at all."
Fabregas has come closer to rediscovering his best form since the arrival of interim manager Guus Hiddink in December, and the Spain international says he is far more satisfied with his performances in recent months.
"Thank God everything changed," he added. "The last three or four months I've been playing very well.
"The most important thing is not how low you get, it's how you stand up to it and how strong you can be to get back to your best. Hopefully I can be even better from now until the end of the season."
Hiddink has committed to giving opportunities to younger players as Chelsea see out the final weeks of the most disappointing season of the Roman Abramovich era, with top academy prospect Ruben Loftus-Cheek starting the Blues' last three Premier League matches.
Fabregas is impressed with Loftus-Cheek's physical maturity and shares Chelsea's optimism that the 20-year-old is capable of maturing into a key figure at Stamford Bridge.
"Only he can say that he can become a big player and he can show it by proving he is good enough," Fabregas told Goal.
"He has the quality for sure. He is strong -- he doesn't seem to be physically 20, he seems like he's 28 physically.
"So now he just has to show technically how he is capable of playing and show his qualities on the pitch -- but definitely he can be one to look out for in the future."