Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech has hit back at critics of coach Avram Grant's selection for Sunday's Carling Cup final defeat.
Michael Ballack was also a substitute, while Nicolas Anelka played out of position on the left wing.
However, Cech has defended his manager, insisting there will always be difficult selection decisions at Chelsea due to the squad's strength in depth.
The goalkeeper does not believe Grant would have come under such scrutiny had The Blues triumphed at Wembley.
Cech told Sky Sports News: "If Joe Cole played and Ballack played, but (Frank) Lampard or (Salomon) Kalou or someone else was not in they (the critics) would say the same thing.
"We have a large squad, we have 27 top players, and the manager has a difficult decision to choose 11 to play.
"He chooses what he thinks is the strongest XI. If we had won the game these questions would not have been asked."