Trevoh Chalobah has said Chelsea's players must take their share of the blame for the chaos that led to the sacking of Liam Rosenior.
Sunday's FA Cup semifinal win over Leeds at Wembley saw a re-energised team produce a display that was a world apart from the debacle at Brighton last Tuesday that proved the final straw for their doomed former boss.
Enzo Fernández headed the winner in the first half as interim head coach Calum McFarlane led the club to its third major final in two seasons.
The next task facing the 40-year-old will be to arrest the Blues' woeful Premier League form that has seen them lose five in a row without scoring -- their worst run since 1912 -- and resurrecting their dwindling hopes of qualifying for Europe.
The manner of the victory over Leeds -- by no means swashbuckling but demonstrating at last some of the organisation and fight that had evaporated under Rosenior -- was cause for hope, but Chalobah thinks the players need to accept their role in the club's situation before moving forward.
"No matter what manager goes, it's difficult," the defender said. "You spend time with them, working with them every day. You have to adapt, you've got to reset again. We can use that as an excuse, but at the end of the day we've got to look at ourselves as players and take responsibility."
The mentality of Chelsea's squad has been repeatedly questioned this season and never more so than during the last few difficult weeks.
It was clear by the end of his time in charge that they had stopped responding to Rosenior, whose attempts to deliver instructions during matches appeared to be ignored by certain players.
The stark contrast between the performances against Brighton and against Leeds would seem to suggest the team's slide has been at least partly to do with their mentality, something Chalobah thinks they can now turn to their advantage.
"When things aren't going your way, that's what we keep hold of," he said. "We've shown it in parts of this season. It was just the same conversation today. We need to show our mentality, our winning habits and winning spirit.
"It's the hunger and determination. Wanting to win second balls, wanting to win headers. Those little things is what's needed. When we do that, our quality shows.
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"Maybe when you don't win games, it's hard to get that determination back. It's just resetting, getting our standards back. It's still the same players we had at the start of the season when we were flying. It's not like we lose our abilities overnight. It's just resetting and getting that feeling back, that mentality back.
"The past is the past. For us, it's about results. We need to be winning games. That's what the fans want, it's what we want, it's what the club wants. What's happened as happened. We just have to look forward."
Chelsea's failure to pick up a point in the league since March 4 has all but ended their hopes of making the Champions League, but Chalobah insisted European qualification in some form was essential.
"Of course," he said. "This is Chelsea, it's where we want to be. We have to do everything we can to get into Europe."
