Rafa Benitez clearly frustrated with his side's performance in a 3-1 defeat to West Ham, and the continued criticism from his own fans, launched an astonishing tirade at the players he has been in charge of for less than two weeks.

The Blues let go of a 1-0 lead, putting in a tame performance in the second half, to hand West Ham a deserved victory. The loss left Chelsea ten points behind leaders Manchester United, and seven adrift of second-placed Manchester City.

"Normally when you lose, you are not happy -- but I was angry," Benitez said. "We did not manage their physical game, the long balls, the second balls, the corners.

"We gave them too many options to play their game and we could not be comfortable in possession.

"That is when you have to show character and quality -- and we did not do that.

"Character and leadership is always necessary in a team. Jose Mourinho's Chelsea team had a lot of character but it is a different time now."

Benitez, who was again resoundingly booed by the away Chelsea fans at Upton Park, admitted his side's confidence was pretty low, following a run of seven games without a win in the Premier League. "We have young players in their first year in the Premier League," he said. "They have talent and quality but you still have to show that on the pitch.

"If you cannot cope with the physical demands of the game, you cannot show your quality so we have to give them confidence.

"I've not had too much time in training every day but we will try to adjust things.

"They are experienced players, they've won the Champions League and a lot of trophies but they have to show that character. And they need confidence to do that.

"Some players might show character but if one or two are not at that level, the whole team suffers. That is what happened in the second half at West Ham."

Benitez, while saying his team lacked leaders, might give an early recall to Frank Lampard and John Terry, with the former likely to play a part in next weekend's game against Sunderland.

"Terry will train part of the session on Monday so, hopefully, will be close, although with the knee you never know," he added. "Frank will train on Monday as well. Sunderland? We will see.

"I will talk with them and then the doctor afterwards. Normally I wouldn't play them if it was not necessary but a lot of players can play with problems. It depends on the risk.

"But character and leadership are necessary in a team."