Mauricio Pochettino says Chelsea "took advantage" of not being in Europe this week as they used the break to work on kick-starting their season.
The Blues failed to qualify for Europe for just the second time in 26 years after their 12th-place finish in the Premier League last season.
They have won just one of their first five games this campaign to sit 14th.
"The circumstances have given us time to work and we've had a really good week," said Pochettino.
"It has been good to recover players from the international break.
"It's a time that, of course, for the fans is difficult because they are used to being in Europe but we need to take advantage of the situation.