Frank Lampard has claimed that Chelsea could not have overcome Napoli without their more experienced players.
Blues owner Roman Abramovich has long spoken of his desire to build a new younger team at Stamford Bridge.
33-year-old Lampard, along with Didier Drogba and captain John Terry, have reportedly been three of the individuals identified as those whose places must be filled long-term.
All three players scored in last night's epic 4-1 extra-time win over Napoli and Lampard believes that the Londoners need all three to be in the team if they are to replicate their success in the near future.
He said: "You can't win these sorts of competitions without that. You're not talking about old boys whose careers are flitting out. They're players that want to play, players that want to win. You can see that.
"When you've got that, if you can add to that with the youth and the quality we've got around the team as well then that's a recipe and we have to carry on with that.
"The amount of nights that Didi's stood up, the amount of nights that John's stood up, is what Chelsea are all about."
The draw for the Champions League quarter-finals will be made on Friday.
Robert Summerscales
