Chelsea swapped pre-match routines for last night's FA Cup replay victory at Southend.

The Daily Mail says cost-cutting at Chelsea, which helped fuel speculation about owner Roman Abramovich's supposed waning interest, has hit match preparation.

Chelsea usually stay in a hotel before games, even when they visit London opponents. But the squad for last night's FA Cup replay at Southend convened at the Cobham training ground on Wednesday morning, saving the price of an overnight stay in Essex.

A spokesman said it was really down to a change of routine following poor results.