As talk of crisis swirls around Chelsea, coach Luiz Felipe Scolari insists he has the backing of his players ahead of Wednesday's FA Cup replay against Southend. They go to Roots Hall on the back of a 3-0 defeat by rivals Manchester United amid allegations the squad is either too old, in disarray or simply uninterested.

"I think I have the squad behind me," declared a defiant Scolari. "We are all in the same boat. If Chelsea lose a game it is not only Scolari, it is the Chelsea team.

"There is not a problem with the spirit. It is a problem of mistakes not spirit.

"It is the game of the year for Southend and it is the same for us. We need to think the same as them.

"But if our spirit is not the same as Southend's, it will be difficult to win. If we have the same spirit and are thinking about the FA Cup, we have more chance than them. We have very good players who are technically better, but we need to prove it on the pitch."

It is not a question of his squad being too old, he says, it is all about stamping out basic errors.

"What has happened is a lesson for us," said Scolari. "It is a problem because we give chances for all teams to score goals from set plays.

"What has happened in the last three or four games has not been good.

"We have done well in 25 games and not well in five. I need to change something. I have changed the system to zonal and not man-to-man.

"The responsibility now is for the group and not one man. But if we talk about the mistakes all the time, maybe we make more mistakes.

"Mentally it is a problem. We lost many points from set-plays and mistakes. Now is the time to talk with the players about what is happening.

"All the players know what I want from set plays. Sometimes mistakes happen. But my team, in the last four games, we have conceded five goals. It is more my mistake than the players' because it is my system.

"I tried to do zonal marking but changed it back to man-to-man sometimes, now we change the system again.

"I am responsible for us conceding the last two goals against United because I tried to change the result in the second half. I opened the midfield. I was wrong but this is my style."