Wednesday 7 October 2015 19:40, UK
Florent Malouda is convinced Chelsea have enough character to turn things around after their dismal start to the season.
Chelsea's board publicly backed manager Jose Mourinho on Monday, with the champions taking just eight points from eight matches, leaving them 16th in the Premier League table.
And former winger Malouda - who is currently playing for Indian Super League side Delhi Dynamos - believes Chelsea captain John Terry will be key to reviving the club's fortunes on the pitch.
"Chelsea is a club built on strong character," Malouda told Sky Sports.
"Of course they are going through a difficult time. Everybody knows it's not Chelsea's standard but it's the same squad that were champions last year.
"John Terry is still skipper and I know how he is when things are difficult at the club and he's always the one trying to help get everybody right.
"When it's like this you have go back to basics but I am confident they will turn things around because they have a lot of quality and they showed it last year.
"The Premier League is a very difficult league and when you lose that many points it's not going to be easy.
"But I've seen it before, I've seen bad starts, but the most important thing is the finish. And I think Chelsea have the character to turn things around, I'm really confident about that."
Malouda is refusing to read too much into recent comments from Mourinho, where the Portuguese appeared to suggest he was unsure of how to remedy the situation at Stamford Bridge.
"I'm pretty sure he knows what to do because he is a manager who works a lot and knows what he is doing," Malouda said.
"But only the results will stop the doubters but I will never doubt this manager. I have seen him find the right words so many times and when he talks to the players he knows what to say.
"Of course he needs results but he is a good manager and I'm sure things will soon become positive."
Delhi's first home game pits them against Chennaiyin on Thursday and Malouda is desperate for his side to bounce back from the 2-0 loss to FC Goa in their opener on Sunday night.
"We were a bit frustrated after the Goa game because we felt like we had the possession but lost because of two first-half mistakes," the 35-year-old said.
"We're now looking forward to our first home game and we need a red-hot atmosphere to make it difficult for other teams to come and play here at the Nehru Stadium.
"The quality of the pitch is good and now we need great support to try and create a hostile atmosphere. It's good for us as players to feel that the crowd are responding to every tackle, every corner and every goal.
"We are desperate for a good result because it's good for confidence and this is a team with ambition. We know we've started badly but we want to finish at the top of the table."
