Cesar Azpilicueta says Chelsea want to take responsibility for their own destiny by finishing in the top four despite the possibility of a Manchester City ban leading to the fifth-place team also qualifying for next season's competition.
Man City's appeal will either be considered or rejected by Court Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Monday with the announcement of the club's fate.
This will come after Chelsea's humbling 3-0 away defeat to Sheffield United in the Premier League, which has thrown their bid to finish in the top four in doubt having previously sat in third place.
Chelsea captain Azpilicueta has issued a rallying cry about standards after his side's poor display at Brammall Lane and denies wanting favours from the upcoming ruling.
"Listen, our job is to be as high as possible in the table," the 30-year-old said on Saturday. "We got into third place and our aim is to finish as high as possible. When you lose that chance to have it in your hands and finish third, it is a big disappointment.
"And it is now out of our hands and we are very disappointed about this and this result. But we know that in 72 hours we have a massive game. We have to play from here to the end of the season like it is a final and get the maximum points as possible.
"When you are a player of Chelsea you have to give everything in every training session. Always Chelsea have had very good players, world-class players and new signings. We know that we have to fight for our place.
"The standards are high and you have to aim for the maximum. This ambition has to remain and we know that the squad we have at the moment is the one that can achieve the targets for this season.
"And when the next season comes, we will take it as it comes but I think the focus is 100 per cent on doing the best job we can in these weeks and get the targets we aim for."
Although Chelsea do play Norwich next at home, a game that they are widely expected to win with their opponents already relegated to the Championship, their other fixtures look difficult.
After that, they have an FA Cup semi-final with in-form Manchester United before facing their final two league games against Liverpool and Wolves.
Azpilicueta addressed the level of challenge to ensure a positive finish for Frank Lampard's side.
"No, at this stage of the season even though we won two games we know we were not at our best," he added. "We have conceded a lot of goals and in every game, there have been difficulties. Now it is about to speak together and fight together.
"We have three games in the Premier League remaining in the next 15 days and you know there is a semi-final against Manchester United. Today is a very tough one to take. We didn’t play our game, we were slow, we couldn’t find spaces and we concede three goals again so it's a difficult one.
"We had it in our hands to be in the top four this season and obviously after today’s game we now have to wait for other results. But there are three games remaining the Premier League and we will do the most we can to finish in the top four by getting points."
