Disappointed Drogba targeting league title consolation

DIDIER DROGBA provided a frank assessment of Chelsea’s Champions League exit and is only hopeful there is more to come from the current squad in the competition.

Drogba accepted Inter Milan deserved victory on Tuesday night and is hoping Chelsea can now recover to regain the Premier League title.

“On the night they were a better team, we couldn’t play our game and they were stronger than us,” he said. “We are disappointed but we have to come back stronger because the league is going to be a big battle.”

Drogba has endured unhappy endings to his last three campaigns, with the trio of controversies starting when he was sent off in the 2008 final against Manchester United.

“It’s difficult because every season we start and we have a lot of belief, then to go out like this is difficult,” he said.

“I’m going to try to make it better. All have been unhappy endings so I hope next season will be mine.”

There was a mood of acceptance in Carlo Ancelotti’s squad after Jose Mourinho returned to his former club and dumped them out of Europe at the last-16 stage.

When Roman Abramovich entered the dressing room after the final whistle there was no finger pointing, arguing or complaining – the ‘Special One’ had masterminded victory over a team he knew so well, with only Andriy Shevchenko and Claude Makelele no longer at the club from the starting XI of his last game in charge.

“He (Abramovich) didn’t speak,” said winger Florent Malouda. “Everyone was quiet in the dressing room because we were really disappointed.

“He came in because when we lose we lose together. You don’t have to blame anyone in particular, we lost together. Now we have to raise it and we will analyse the way we played and then win together.”

Defeat came with the admission that Chelsea resorted to hitting long balls to Drogba, with Malouda adding: “We didn’t use our strengths and sometimes we played too many long balls. It was strange and we didn’t seem to handle it and to find a way to keep the intensity high.”

Michael Ballack bluntly described Chelsea as having “no answer” to Inter.

“To play against this team, they were defensively so strong and in every duel they were unbelievable, clever and hard,” said the Germany midfielder. “Normally you find an answer because we are also a physical team but we were not good on the night and were disappointed.”

Drogba will miss at least the first two European matches of next season following his red card.

UEFA’s disciplinary committee will decide if his two-game suspended penalty, for his reaction to the Barca defeat, will now be triggered.

Ballack and Drogba are hoping the current Chelsea players can stay together and make an impression on the Champions League next season.

“You can’t take this second half or match for (assessing) the development of this team over a whole year,” Ballack said. “I don’t think the team looks poor generally.”

Drogba added: “The only thing I can say is that even if we won, I’m really happy here and most of the players here are really happy and we want to stay here and continue the adventure.”