Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic says they'll stop the rot under manager Jose Mourinho.
In each of the last three years, the Blues' form has inexplicably nosedived around this time of the campaign and ultimately led to a string of coaching casualties.
Ahead of this week's Champions League opener at home to Swiss club Basel, the Serbian, 29, said: "I believe we'll have learnt something from what went wrong in the last few years.
"But also the new manager won't let the past affect us mentally. There's no way he'll allow it to happen again.
"The boss is in control of everything here and knows the whole situation at the club. He's been amazing to work with since he came back.
"We have to go step by step and take it slowly but the confidence he gives to all of us is a very big positive.
"What's happened previously is something we have to think about. But if we stay together and focused I'm sure we can be a great success this season."
