Former Ajax and Barcelona star Johan Cruyff believes that Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho could end up losing the trust of his players should he continue to publicly criticise them.

The Portuguese coach described his side's defending as a "joke" following last week's 3-1 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie.

Mourinho, who returned to Chelsea last summer following three years at Real Madrid, also hit out at the performance of his forwards after he chose to start midfielder Andre Schurrle as opposed to a recognised striker at Parc des Princes.

"It's the same old story," the Daily Mail quotes Cruyff as saying. "When things go well it's down to him and if they don't it's down to the players.

"I saw how he lost the dressing room at Real Madrid and it is possible the same thing is going to happen at Chelsea. To ask for a £58m striker, as if it were perfectly normal, is an attitude I have trouble understanding."

Chelsea will try to overturn their deficit against PSG in the second leg of the quarter-final clash at Stamford Bridge tonight.