Blues have badly missed veteran stars, admits striker Drogba

DIDIER DROGBA admits Chelsea have missed the experience of the players who left Stamford Bridge last summer during their recent miserable run of form.

The Blues sold or released international stars Michael Ballack, Ricardo Carvalho, Joe Cole, Deco and Juliano Belletti in the close season, turning to youngsters Josh McEachran, Jeffrey Bruma, Gael Kakuta, Patrick van Aanholt and Daniel Sturridge.

Injury and illness robbed them of Drogba, Frank Lampard, John Terry and Michael Essien for part of the season, and Ray Wilkins was also controversially sacked as assistant manager, arguably sparking their worst run of results in the Barclays Premier League for almost 15 years.