Drogba told the Daily Mail: "I have found Jose Mourinho's eviction pretty hard to take. It changes an awful lot of things. I'm on my way back from a knee injury and at the moment I am in the sort of nervous state I've never even dreamed about before.
"I could not see the blow coming so brutally. He said he was happy to have left, and for him to admit it means he must have had a heavy heart."
While Drogba did not mention billionaire owner Roman Abramovich by name, it is clear that his loyalties lie on the Mourinho side of the Chelsea divide that Avram Grant now has to heal.
Drogba said: "It felt strange to return to our training centre at Cobham and no longer see Mourinho. That was when the shock hit home.
"There was a real family spirit in the camp. It was strong and we all had our habits. We could say anything to one another. That was our strength. This will need mental strength and a united squad. Many of us used to play first and foremost for the manager.
"Now we need to forget those feelings and find another source of motivation. But I don't want to say anything more. It annoys me to talk about it."
