Wilkins salutes Chelsea´s focus

Chelsea assistant manager Ray Wilkins praised his side’s professionalism after they put aside off-the-field distractions to reach the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 4-1 win over Championship club Cardiff.

Blues captain John Terry was absent for the match at Stamford Bridge on Saturday after flying to Dubai to see his wife in a bid to solve his marital problems following reports of an affair with the ex-girlfriend of England teammate Wayne Bridge.

Ashley Cole was also missing through injury, but his private life has been thrust into newspaper headlines too over reports of text picture messages which were sent from his phone to a glamour model.

While those issues could be a problem for a less experienced squad, Chelsea are showing no signs that any of it will hinder their push for trophies as they bounced back from a midweek defeat at Everton.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side are already top of the Premier League table, and soon resume their Champions League campaign with a two-leg clash against Inter Milan, led by former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho.

They were far too strong for Cardiff and goals from Didier Drogba, Michael Ballack, Daniel Sturridge and Salomon Kalou clinched a fifth round win.

“It’s not so much about their class, more their professionalism,” Wilkins said.

“Some people think a game like this will be straight forward and easy, but those players took the game by the throat and helped us pull through. I’d put Frank Lampard in there too.

“We have a wonderful squad that helps our aim to win every game. We have a wonderful challenge coming up against Inter Miilan, it is massive. We know they will be an extremeley tough couple of games.”

Drogba moved Chelsea ahead within two minutes, yet their defensive performance left much to be desired and Cardiff deservedly drew level before half-time when Alex was out of position and Michael Chopra headed home.

Eventually Cardiff ran out of steam as three second half goals left them feeling hard done by.

Ballack’s goal came after a Drogba pass cup open the back four, Sturridge’s fourth FA Cup goal of the season fell to him after a ricochet, while Kalou’s header four minutes from time after a Paulo Ferreira cross was fantastic.

“It was tougher than we thought,” admitted Wilkins. “We knew they would work their socks off but thankfully we increased the tempo in the second half. In the end it became a tad easy.

“Every now and then we do have a lapse in concentration at the back though, and people score. It is a slight concern.”

Wilkins confirmed Terry will fly home to prepare for their next game with Wolves, but also brushed off worries that midfielder Joe Cole is struggling to recapture the form that once made him an England regular.

Cole was substituted at half-time against Cardiff after an ineffective performance.

“Joe wasn’t injured, it was a tactical decision,” Wilkins said. “There is no concern over his form, it just takes time to come back after an injury like he had. Going forward we see no problems. He will get there.”

Cardiff manager Dave Jones gave credit to his players for their efforts and will now focus his attention on an attempt to win promotion to the top-flight.

“Chelsea are the best team in their division, because they are top,” Jones said. “I think my lads can take great credit that we gave it a real go for an hour.

“I have told them we will go over the game on Monday, but there are just small mistakes you get punished for at this level.

“Getting attracted just half a yard towards the ball cost us. But it was certainly a good experience for us that will help in the future.”