Chelsea's Nathan Ake: I don't drink to make sure I have nothing to blame

Teetotal: Nathan Ake doesn't want alcohol to affect his performances
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Nathan Ake has revealed he doesn't drink alcohol to ensure it doesn't affect his performances on the pitch as the Chelsea defender also admitted he craves regular playing time.

Ake was brought back early from his season-long loan move to Bournemouth in January after impressing for Eddie Howe's side.

Despite his showings at Bournemouth and, indeed, at Watford during the 2015/16 campaign, Ake could not force his way into Antonio Conte's starting line-up and went on to make just a handful of starts in all competitions.

However, one of those came in the FA Cup semi-final game against Tottenham where the 22-year-old put in a solid showing as the Blues ran out 4-2 winners at Wembley.

In Pictures | Chelsea vs Tottenham | 22/04/17

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Ake has now opened up about keeping focused as a player, revealing he doesn't drink to ensure he is ready to play when called upon by Chelsea manager Conte.

"I don’t drink and I never have," Ake told The Guardian. "A lot of people ask me why. But imagine if something goes wrong... I just want to make sure I’ve got nothing to blame, like: ‘I should have done this, I should have done that.’ I just want to focus on what I do on the pitch."

When then asked about his lack of playing time since returning to Chelsea at the turn of the year, Ake replied: "The main thing for me is to play games.

"Whether it is here, whether it is somewhere else, I don’t know yet. I need to see what [Chelsea technical director] Michael [Emenalo] thinks. That’s what we need to discuss and see where we go from there.

"When I was 17, 18, 19, you are happy you are going to be involved, or be on the bench, or get some minutes. But I think at my age now, you want to play a little bit more, also because I had a taste of it.

"Of course you also know this is a big club, so there will be big players and it’s not easy to come into the team. I just need to see what is going to happen with Michael or the manager. We have to talk and see what is best."

Despite having to watch on from the bench in the last five months, Ake admitted he "really" likes Conte and praised the Italian for being straight with him upon his return from Bournemouth in January.

"I really like him. He called me in the office straight away on the first day, explaining how we play, where he sees me, which is more left-side centre-half, but in the centre if needed and sometimes as a left‑wing back," he added.

"I think the first two weeks I still needed to adjust but after then you know everything you need to do because we’re so well drilled."

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