Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho personally accepted the blame for their FA Cup fifth round defeat by Newcastle United at St James' Park on Sunday.
"I'm the manager, I make decisions and I'm responsible for the defeats, not for the victories, for the defeats. I make the decisions so the defeat is down to me. I'm guilty," he said.
Mourinho's decision to make a triple halftime substitution left his team outnumbered after defender Wayne Bridge was carried off just after the break and Newcastle went on to win 1-0 thanks to Dutch striker Patrick Kluivert's early goal.
"Throwing on three players at halftime is a big risk but I don't regret it," Mourinho told reporters. "I've taken that decision before and I will take it again.
"I put on three players I thought could help me to change the game. I did it because it thought it was the best thing for my team and when we were the better team in the second half with 10 men it would have been even better with 11.
"We were up against it early on but we created plenty of chances and did not have much luck in front of goal. The message is that we are still a very proud team and one that is together despite the defeat."
Mourinho confirmed that England left back Bridge would miss Chelsea's Champions League meeting with Barcelona on Wednesday after being taken to hospital with a suspected broken ankle following a challenge by Alan Shearer just after halftime.
BRIDGE OUT
The Portuguese coach also said Chelsea's France centre half William Gallas and Ireland winger Damien Duff were doubtful for the first leg of the first knockout round at the Nou Camp.
"I never like to cry about injuries but Wayne is definitely out. He's gone to hospital and for sure it looks serious but we will have to wait and see about Duffer and Gallas.
"But I'm proud of my team, even prouder than sometimes when we've won this season because they were magnificent.
"The result was not fair because to me we were the best team. But when we beat Newcastle 4-0 at Stamford Bridge (when) they were better then us for much of the game so that's how football goes sometimes."
The defeat also halted Chelsea's challenge on all fronts although Mourinho feels winning four trophies is attainable.
"The quadruple could still be possible for a team because I've done it in Portugal but it's especially difficult in England because the domestic competitions are so hard to win especially when you have no control over the fixtures.
Newcastle manager Graeme Souness, who has been under pressure following the club's poor run of league form, told reporters: "We've played against an excellent side and who controlled most of the possession after our goal.
"We felt in our two previous games with Chelsea that lady luck wasn't with us but today she smiled on us and I'm not complaining about it.
"If you include the Rangers result [Sunday's 2-0 win at Celtic in the Scottish Premier League] I suppose it is the most satisfying day since I came here," said the delighted former Rangers player and manager.
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