Chelsea midfielder Michael Ballack has admitted he was not happy at being left out of the starting line-up for Sunday's Carling Cup final.

Ballack was surprisingly left out of the starting XI by Avram Grant despite being one of Chelsea's best performers in recent weeks.

The German international came on from the bench two minutes from the end of normal time, but could not prevent Chelsea from falling to defeat.

Ballack's exclusion has been criticised by a number of pundits and the former Bayern Munich star says he has not been told why he was left out.

Not happy

"I am not happy that I did not play but I have to accept it like everybody else who did not start," Ballack told the London Evening Standard. "It was not explained, it was on the team-sheet shortly before the game and that was it."

Keep going

Ballack has called on his team-mates to bounce back from the disappointment of losing to Spurs by focusing on the UEFA Champions League and Premier League.

"We have to keep going in the other competitions," added Ballack. "We still have a strong team and good chances to win the Champions League.

"Okay, in the Premier League we are nine points behind Arsenal, but we still have hope and we have to remember that and concentrate. We have to start again."

Ballack had no complaints with the defeat to Tottenham and says the better team won.

"We didn't start very well yesterday and couldn't control the game. Tottenham looked sharper," noted Ballack.

"We did too little to win a final. Now we have to think about why we didn't win and do better in the future."