Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor says injuries are to blame for her side’s decline this season.

Back-to-back defeats by Arsenal and Manchester City have left the defending champions, who have won the Women’s Super League for the past six seasons, 12 points behind the leaders with eight games left.

After 5-1 loss to City, Bompastor made comments that some interpreted as blaming a lack of squad depth for their troubles, but the French manager insisted that was not what she meant and that she was making a point about how injuries had affected their season.

“I tried to say the squad depth has been affected by key players missing in key positions – that’s probably the main reason we are in this situation,” she said.

“English is not my first language and maybe because of the language barrier, I didn’t express that clearly.”

After the City game Bompastor also said she would be “happy” to leave Chelsea if the club hierarchy felt she was no longer the right person for the job.

However, speaking before Sunday’s trip to Tottenham Hotspur, she insisted she retained the club’s backing.

“I have felt the support of the club since my first day and I do not feel under pressure. They support me – they support the players,” she said.