Middlesbrough manager Chris Wilder has taken a subtle dig at Tottenham and Manchester United, suggesting that instability in their dugouts is the reason there is such a noticeable gap between the duo and Chelsea.
After beating Ralf Rangnick and Antonio Conte's sides in the FA Cup this season, Middlesbrough finally came unstuck against Thomas Tuchel and co on Saturday evening. Goals from Romelu Lukaku and Hakim Ziyech were enough to earn a 2-0 win in the North East and book in another appearance at Wembley in the semi-finals.
Chelsea went into the clash amid a storm of off-field problems, with away fans unable to buy tickets to the Riverside as part of the sanctions imposed on Roman Abramovich by the government. It only meant Tuchel was more impressed with the level of performance put in by his side on the day.
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"I’m very happy and very impressed," he told the BBC in his post-match interview. "We accepted the situation because we did not cause it. Nothing we can do will change the situation and it is not in our hands. What is in our hands is to stay focused and to set an example because I think, many people at Chelsea and who work at Chelsea who are not in the spotlight are more concerned than us and more worried about the situation about what is going on and what will happen.
"For them, it’s also important that we take the responsibility and give the right spirit and attitude to set and this is very, very good. Last but not least, we also need to show it because of our talent, it’s a responsibility that if you have this talent, and if you show you’re still gifted to play football as a profession, then you do what you do and push yourself to the limit. This is what we do and the culture at the club helps to support everybody."
Wilder, who has overseen a remarkable transformation at Boro since taking over from Neil Warnock at the helm of the club, with just two points separating them from the play-off places as things stand in the Championship.
In his post-match press conference, he piled praise on the job done by his side in previous rounds but also gave huge credit to the job done at Chelsea by Tuchel and his squad. Wilder also revealed what Chelsea had that Spurs and United do not.
"We played a full hit Man United, a full hit Tottenham and a full hit Chelsea," said the Middlesbrough boss at full-time. "We hung in there with United and beat them on penalties. We fully deserved it versus Tottenham and we couldn't find the right defensive moments tonight.
"Chelsea just find a way. It is the mentality of the group led by an incredible manager. They have stability with Thomas coming in and the other two clubs maybe don't have that.
"Their skipper (Cesar Azpilicueta), Thiago (Silva) and (Antonio) Rudiger just want to win and that's why they win things and are champions."
