Benitez says Blues are better off with him

Rafael Benitez insists Chelsea are improving under him – regardless of whether they manage to win a trophy this season.

With the title looking beyond the Blues’ reach and Swansea having knocked them out of the Capital One Cup, Benitez has come in for increased criticism in recent weeks.

The interim manager was always an unpopular replacement for the sacked Roberto Di Matteo, but he believes the fact he was appointed in the first place suggests Chelsea were not in good shape under his predecessor.

“It’s not just about winning trophies,” he said.

“If I am here, it is because something was wrong. It’s simple.

“I think the team is scoring more goals, conceding less goals and you can see that we have more balance.”

The former Liverpool boss also argues that injuries to the likes of Frank Lampard and John Terry have not helped his cause since his arrival at Stamford Bridge.

“If you analyse the squad, analyse new players, the new situation, the players that were here in the past some of them are not here,” he said.

“You have new players and they have to settle down in the Premier League and in England.

“Things are different – totally different. The money that has been spent before and spent recently, it’s different, and other teams are also stronger and are spending money.

“If you analyse the stats you also have to put them into context.”

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