ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE:CARLO ANCELOTTI is "100 per cent sure" that he will still be Chelsea's manager next season despite the club's premature elimination from the Champions League.
The Italian has set his squad the target of becoming the seventh club to claim a league and FA Cup double as he seeks to make a success of his first season in English football.
The London side travel to Blackburn Rovers tomorrow aware that, by the time they run out at Ewood Park, they could be third in the Premier League table and playing catch-up, albeit with games in hand. Chelsea owner, Roman Abramovich, has spoken to Ancelotti and the first-team squad at their Cobham training base since the loss to Internazionale on Tuesday, with the manager assured over his future at the club and his players refocused on domestic matters.
Asked whether he would still be in charge next term, Ancelotti said: “Yes, I’m sure, 100 per cent. I’m sure because I think that, at the end of the season, we will have had a very good season. A fantastic season. If we win every game, we can do the double and that’s our aim. My assistant told me that only five teams, I think, have won a double here in England. Tottenham Hotspur, Arsenal, Manchester United . . .”
There have actually been six clubs who have achieved that feat – Preston North End, Aston Villa and Liverpool making up the list – and the Italian is bullish over his side’s prospects of joining that select band.
“It is my idea to create this new motivation,” added Ancelotti.
“I need that new target as well because I was just as disappointed by what happened on Tuesday. I slept for two hours that night – I couldn’t sleep more – but now I am fresh. We need to put a new motivation into the club, to shift the objectives, because we were focused on the Champions League and now we’ve changed our aim.
“Remember, in the Premier League, Chelsea were never at the top of the table so, when you’re playing catch-up, you can’t afford to drop points. That creates more pressure. We have pressure on us now because the three teams – Arsenal, United and us – are very close and you cannot make a mistake. But, in the last four years, Chelsea have never been at the top at this stage of the season so that’s a good thing . . . We’ve had a very good season in the league.”
The manager reminded his players of that much this week, with Abramovich in attendance.
“Roman spoke with the players and with me, but what was said is a private issue. He came here to support us because he knows football and knows that we are still involved in important competitions. His presence here was very good. We all have to do our best for our last 11 games. We have 56 days until the end of the season and we have to do our best.”
Guardian Service
