‘I've been lazy' – Levi Colwill is his own fiercest critic as Chelsea star admits ‘areas of my game aren't good enough'
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LEVI COLWILL heads into the biggest season of his career desperate to overcome his biggest opponent - himself.
The ambitious Chelsea and England defender admits to being 'lazy' with so much to work on as he enters World Cup year.
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Levi Colwill is a leader in Chelsea's dressing room - and his own fiercest critic
Credit: AFP
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Colwill admits to sometimes being 'lazy' in his passing
Credit: Getty
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Colwill is prepared to improve his game to secure a World Cup place
Credit: Alamy
Colwill is emerging as a leader in the dressing room among a young squad but is his own fiercest critic.
The centre-back, 22, said: 'We could be here for ages, to be honest. I am nowhere near where I would like to be in the future.
'There are so many areas of my game that aren't good enough. I've seen that this season.
'Defending one-on-one has been tough this season but I think I've proved that I was getting a bit better towards the end.
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'And just being on the ball. I'm good at times when I'm trying to make passes and there are other times where I've been a bit lazy and you can tell.
"Like I said, there are so many things I need to improve and get better at, to finalise my game and make myself better to help my team.
'That can happen naturally when you are playing a game. You might think a pass is an easy pass, you can take your mind off it. That's what I mean when I say 'laziness'. It can easily happen in games.
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'You take your mind off something for half a second and that can make a big, big difference in the Premier League and tournaments like this where you are playing against the best players all the time.
'It is going to be a huge season for me at Chelsea. We're back in the Champions League too which we plan to do as well as possible.
Chelsea survive electric storm to beat Benfica 4-1 at CWC
'Then we've got the Premier League where we want to push on and do better than we did this season.
'For me, looking at the end of the season where we've got the World Cup, it will be a big aim to be there.
'I've got to play the best I can for Chelsea to try and get myself in that team, in that squad.
"First and foremost, we've got to try and hit our goals for next season.'
Colwill has five England caps, which include a full 90 minutes in the most recent international, the shock 3-1 defeat by Senegal.
He is battling with former Chelsea stablemate and current Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi for a squad spot in the run up to USA 2026.
The Club World Cup has faced criticism for dragging an already lengthy football season even further into summer.
As soon as Chelsea are out - whether that be after Friday's quarter-final against Palmeiras or in triumph after the final on July 13 - the players will grab a brief holiday before they go again.
I am nowhere near where I would like to be in the future
Levi Colwill
Much has been made of the lack of downtime for modern day footballers but Colwill says kicking back too much is a risky business.
He said: 'I probably won't do anything for about a week, maybe two weeks. See how I'm feeling.
'Then after that, you've got to start getting ready for pre-season. It comes around quickly.
"You don't want to be lacking when it comes to that - because the gaffer will get on to you.'
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Colwill won his fifth England cap against Senegal
Credit: Getty
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