Carlo Ancelotti is "100% 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. The 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.
Previous Chelsea managers have discovered patience to be in short supply at Stamford Bridge yet, asked whether he would still be in charge next term, Ancelotti said: "Yes, I'm sure. 100%. 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," Ancelotti said. "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.
"I think the possibility of achieving a Double is a good motivation for everyone at the club. Remember, in the Premier League, Chelsea have not been in the position we are now in recent seasons. They've been behind in the last four years – they 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. That means we've had a very good season in the league."
The manager reminded his players of that much in their team meetings this week, with Abramovich in attendance. "Roman spoke with the players and with me, but what was said is a private issue," Ancelotti said. "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 inthat time; I spoke to my players and to my assistants and stressed that."
Ancelotti has inspired a recovery from European disappointment before. In 2004, his Milan side surrendered a 4-1 first-leg advantage in their Champions League quarter-final to lose 5-4 on aggregate to Deportivo La Coruña. "Immediately, we changed focus and concentrated on Serie A, and we won it," the Chelsea manager said. "It's not easy because the disappointment stays in your mind, but you have to put it out of your head and concentrate on the league. [The Milan president] Silvio Berlusconi had been disappointed and angry. People like him and Abramovich know very well the behaviour to use to put more motivation in their teams and support them. They are people who are able to do this.
"I hope I do eventually bring the European Cup to Chelsea. It's my dream to bring the Champions League here to Stamford Bridge. We missed out this year, but it's my job to look forward now. I don't have time to think about the Champions League now. Unfortunately."
