Former Liverpool defender Alan Hansen believes that Chelsea interim manager Rafael Benitez is not the main issue at Stamford Bridge.

The Spaniard, who has failed to strike up a relationship with the majority of the club's fans since replacing Roberto Di Matteo in November, is expected to be given the boot in the summer.

While criticism has fallen on the ex-Liverpool manager's shoulders, Hansen believes that the Blues' lack of the "right type of player" is the deep-rooted problem in the West London club.

"It does not matter whether it is Benitez or Jose Mourinho in charge of this Chelsea team, there is a lack of the right type of player, particularly at the back," Hansen wrote in The Telegraph.

"They need a centre-half, a holding midfielder and a right-back. The jury is also still out on whether Demba Ba is good enough for the level Chelsea aspire to. Whoever Roman Abramovich turns to next will simply find himself addressing the same tactical and technical problems Benitez has been faced with."

Chelsea are currently one point above fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League table.