All calm as Ancelotti directs at the Bridge

A SENSE OF perspective appears to have settled in at Stamford Bridge. Sunday’s club-record 11th consecutive league win did not dupe the players into bold predictions of a stroll to the title. Nicolas Anelka was referring to Carlo Ancelotti when he spoke of “calm” and “control” and this team are assimilating the attributes of their manager.

Chelsea are three points clear of Manchester United and with a trip to Wigan to come on Saturday a haul of 21 points from seven games is clearly possible, even as the club await news on Didier Drogba’s calf cramp.

After the Wigan match, Liverpool will come to west London in the first week of October, intent on checking Chelsea’s momentum as they did last year.

“We have big games coming up,” said Anelka. “We’ll know a little more [about what we can achieve] after then.”

The acknowledgement that sterner tests await is significant. Chelsea have faced awkward moments in most of their matches, but Tottenham Hotspur’s visit on Sunday was their most daunting fixture. Furthermore, this team bear the psychological scars inflicted by previous false dawns.

Michael Ballack spoke of the defeats in the 2008 Champions League final and last year’s semi-final as having generated a “spirit” among those players who endured those disappointments.

This squad, however, need only look at the way the club’s last permanent management regime unravelled. At this stage last season, a win at Stoke put Chelsea clear of Arsenal at the top. Luiz Felipe Scolari’s side were playing swashbuckling football that relied upon Ashley Cole and Jose Bosingwa galloping up and down the flanks.

Yet Liverpool’s 1-0 win at Stamford Bridge in late October provided a reality check. It was followed by four league wins, but fragilities in the Brazilian’s gameplan had been exposed.

Arsenal won 2-1 in west London at the end of November and Chelsea never returned to the top of the table. Scolari was sacked and Guus Hiddink came in to conduct a salvage job.

Chelsea are now benefiting from the Ancelotti effect. Cole says the club have the “best squad, best team and best spirit” since he joined in 2006.

Anelka said: “The manager rotates the squad, which is new at Chelsea. Everyone gets to play a part and everyone is happy. We really like him as a coach and as a person too. You can feel that out on the pitch and you really want to work hard for him.

“He’s laid-back, he talks a lot and he knows exactly what he’s doing. It makes things easier when you’ve got a coach like that. He won the league and Champions League with Milan. He’s been there and done it.”

Ballack said: “We changed the system under him, which gives us more possession and makes the game feel a little bit more comfortable, even if we don’t create one chance after another because we know the situation will come.

“That’s what he always tells us, you have to wait for your chance and you can see it when they come – we are deadly. He gives the team a lot of confidence. We’ve taken it on board quickly because you can see how easily it all fits together.”

This side’s first defeat will demand a positive reaction, but there is nothing fractious or panicked about Chelsea at present. There was consternation in the stands at the sight of Drogba being carried off against Spurs – the Ivorian had a precautionary scan on his right calf last night – but Ancelotti might have been tempted to rest him against Wigan anyway.

Much has been made of Drogba’s likely absence – with Salomon Kalou and Michael Essien – at the African Cup of Nations at the turn of the year, but that would only rule him out of games against Hull, Sunderland, Birmingham and Burnley. It would be far worse to lose him over the next seven weeks, as Chelsea host Liverpool and United and travel to Aston Villa.

The scan will determine Drogba’s availability. Chelsea are hopeful he will not be ruled out. These days, cautious optimism appears to abound at Stamford Bridge.

Guardian Service