BOZZY: "WE MISSED STAY-AWAY SIX"
Emmanuel Petit, striker Eidur Gudjohnsen and defenders Marcel Desailly, Graeme Le Saux, Albert Ferrer and William Gallas all stayed away from the clash, which Chelsea lost 2-0 after conceeding twice in the last two minutes, because of safety fears.
And although Bosnich respects their decision, he believes their absence ultimately cost The Blues any chance of getting a reult.
"I'd be lying if I said it wasn't significant. Of course, it was. Of the six that didn't go, three or four are the heart of our team.
"Yet we do have a very big squad. And it was disappointing, with so little time to go, that we couldn't keep it to 0-0.
"I think we could have picked up a draw. But they still have to come to our place and it won't be easy for them. We'll make sure of that."
The six players have come in for some heavy ctiticism amongst Chelsea supporters with some threatening to boycott the second leg as a mark of protest against their decision to stay in England.
One claimed: "I'm not going on principle. Some of the 'six' will be playing and that's a disgrace.
"I would be happy if none of them played for Chelsea again. I'm sick of the pathetic efforts of our highly-paid mercenaries."
However, Mario Melchiot, whose sending off also contributed towards the defeat, has called on the fans not to turn on the club's staw-away six.
"I see everyone is pointing the finger at the six guys who didn't travel to Israel.
"But I cannot understand this. The club gave everyone the freedom to choose if they wanted to go or not and that should be the end of the matter.
"It was a personal choice and everyone should respect that."
