Bridge criticises Chelsea's mentality after Boro defeat

Wayne Bridge believes Chelsea's defeat at Middlesbrough highlighted the lack of a winning mentality in Mauricio Pochettino's side.

The Blues left themselves with plenty to do in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final on January 23 after losing 1-0 at the Riverside last night. 

And ex-England star Bridge, who won a host of trophies under Jose Mourinho in West London, admits Poch's men desperately need to adopt standards similar to those displayed by his old team-mates.

He told LiveScore: "Mourinho increased that mentality. He demanded quality day in, day out in training. No sloppiness.

"Even players like Arjen Robben and Joe Cole, who were so skillful, would work extremely hard. 

"The work ethic in that team was so good and everyone demanded it of each other.

"I look at this Chelsea team now and wonder whether they have that. There aren't a lot of leaders.

"You've got Thiago Silva and maybe Conor Gallagher, who now might be sold to Tottenham, which would be crazy."

Sign the right characters

Chelsea have reportedly spent more than £1billion on new players in three transfer windows since Todd Boehly's takeover. 

But while Bridge, 43, acknowledges the situation is an extraordinary one, he believes dipping back into the market may be the best solution. 

He said: "It's a headache thinking about how to fix all the issues.

"It's crazy to think after all the money they've spent that they're going to need new players — a left-back and a striker.

"But they need to think more when they're spending a lot of money.

"Is he going to help everyone? Does he have the right attitude, the right desire? Does he fit in the changing room?

"You have to do some digging on these players — you can't just go and buy them."

Back Poch

One person Bridge does not feel needs replacing is the manager.

Pochettino, 51, became Boehly's third hire in little over a year last summer and the former Southampton ace insists the Argentinian should be given time. 

He added: "I'd like to see them stick with Poch.

"I think he's a good manager and a good guy. He could help the young lads and I think he's sometimes been let down by his players.

"They play some good stuff at times but need that consistency. They need to show it a lot more often.

"It would be great for the atmosphere around the club if they could come back against Middlesbrough and go on to win the Carabao Cup.

"It would instil some confidence that they can win. Confidence is a massive thing in football and winning a trophy would be a step in the right direction.

"But they have to go on from that. It would need to be the start of something rather than papering over the cracks."

Wayne Bridge was speaking to LiveScore on behalf of sports betting site BetVictor.