Torres: Chelsea have shown more character under Benitez

The Spain striker says the interim manager did his best to bring the club back from a difficult situation, and believes the team performed much better after he took over

Chelsea striker Fernando Torres says the club have shown more character under the stewardship of Rafa Benitez, and have performed better as a result.

After taking over in November, Benitez led the west London club third place in the Premier League and won the Europa League after defeating Benfica 2-1 in the final.

Torres says the Blues relied too much on individuals in the early stages of the season, but Benitez has helped them to perform better as a team and prove they are good enough to fight for the title next year.

"[Benitez] helped to give the team confidence back after a difficult period in November," Torres told the club's official website.

"Especially in the last couple of months the team has shown more character and as a team we have performed much better than in the beginning of the season when maybe individuality was the key for us.

"It is something to build up from and I think everyone wishes him all the best now.

"The only thing he wanted to do [was] his best and to try to help Chelsea to come back from a difficult situation, and credit to the players as well because it is not easy to play so many games in a season.

"We needed to prove to ourselves we are good enough to finish in the top three.

"We know we have to improve in the Premier League next season and try to fight for the trophy, not thinking about if we can qualify [for the Champions League] or not - but this is the first step and it is giving us a bit more confidence."