Chelsea boss Rafa Benitez says the confidence has returned to his players since being dumped out of the Champions League.

The Spaniard has succeeded in arresting the alarming slide that led to his appointment last month, although he was unable to prevent Chelsea crashing out of the Champions League.

"I did fear not being in the Champions League might be a negative," he said.

"It took a few days to recover from that but now we have.

"I feel the disappointment actually motivated the squad. We have other competitions to win, starting tomorrow."

He added: "I am trying to keep the winning mentality, the hunger to win trophies."