Carlo Ancelotti believes Chelsea now have slim chance in title race

Posted Saturday, April 02, 2011 by theguardian.com

• The Chelsea manager says they have to win last nine games
• 'The players believe, and that is good,' says Italian

Carlo Ancelotti believes Chelsea now have slim chance in title race
Carlo Ancelotti says he is excited by the pressure of chasing Premier League and Champions League honours with Chelsea.

Carlo Ancelotti's conviction that Chelsea are too far behind Manchester United in the title race has wavered. The Italian believes his team's recent revival has now given them "a chance" of retaining their title, though he thinks the reigning champions cannot afford to drop another point if they are to overhaul the leaders.

Chelsea go into Saturday's contest at Stoke City nine points adrift of the top but with a game in hand and a trip to Old Trafford to come among their nine remaining fixtures, and bolstered by a recent sequence of three successive league wins.

That form has pepped confidence within the squad that United can be reined in, even if it would take the perfect run-in for the Londoners to secure their fourth league title in seven seasons.

"The players believe, and that is good," Ancelotti said. "It means they've got good motivation to play, game by game. Nine points – even if we have a game in hand – is not too easy. They are not too close. But we have a chance. We will have a chance in the future if we concentrate and are ready for the next game. To have a chance we will have to win all the games in the Premier League. That's our aim, to win all nine games.

"United cannot win all nine if we do that, because they still have to play against us. But, even so, if they win seven or eight, they'll win the title and we won't have a chance. It's not in our hands. But, for any team, making a mistake at this stage of the season can be dangerous. Not just us.

"Every team has their own aims at this stage but, if you make a mistake now, you can lose your possibility to win something. Us, United, Arsenal – they cannot make a mistake either. But, for us, three months ago in November or December, it would have felt like a dream to arrive in this situation now. I don't know what we will achieve in the end, but we now have a possibility to fight."

Ancelotti is in the rare position of having a full-strength squad from which to choose at present, with Yossi Benayoun and Alex lacking only match practice after lengthy absences with achilles and knee injuries. That has added to the sense of optimism around the club, though the manager admits to thriving amid the pressure whipped up by the run-in.

"I need that pressure to maintain focus, to stay concentrated on my job," he said. "I like it – I'm better under pressure. If I'm too relaxed, it's not good. Now, though, I'm excited: we have games every three days, in the Premier League and Champions League. I'd be less excited if I didn't feel my team were in good form and motivated, but they are confident."

There remain issues for Ancelotti to address, not least coaxing goals from his four main forwards. None of Fernando Torres, Nicolas Anelka, Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou has scored in the league since the Spaniard made his first appearance after his £50m arrival from Liverpool almost two months ago, a record that did not dissuade the manager from claiming they were the best group of forwards in the division. "I think they are," he said.

"They're one of the best groups of strikers given their skills. I wouldn't swap any of them for anybody. But this team is showing the same skill and ability that we were able to use at the start of the season again. If United drop points, we will be ready."

Stoke may be without their Norwegian international striker John Carew who has been suffering from a back complaint.