Blues response pleases Ray
10 Nov 2008 - 08:01:45
Assistant first-team coach Ray Wilkins believes Chelsea provided the perfect response to their doubters with Sunday's 2-0 victory over Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park.
The Blues bounced back from a below-par display in a 3-1 Champions League defeat to AS Roma last week courtesy of two strikes from Nicolas Anelka.
The three-point haul also sent the London club back to the top of the Premier League table and Wilkins, who was standing in on media duty for 60th-birthday celebrating manager Luiz Felipe Scolari, claimed the result was the perfect response.
"A lot of people would have been looking at that thinking it's a tough game at Blackburn, difficult conditions, will they fancy it? Particularly after the game in the week, but I think you can see from the attitude and the way they played today that they were well up for it," he said.
'"We were playing catch-up with Liverpool and it was imperative we got the three points.
"There would have been a lot of people thinking we might slip up today, but they do have a lot of pride in their performance, our guys."
Meanwhile, Wilkins expects Didier Drogba and Joe Cole to feature in the Carling Cup meeting with Burnley in midweek after missing the trip to Blackburn through injury.
"Didier has been out for quite a period and he still isn't quite feeling good enough to come into the fold, so we thought it best we left him behind," he continued.
"There is no setback. He just doesn't feel that he's ready to crack on.
"I think he's (Cole's) been out for three weeks and you tend to pick up little injuries along the way.
"He has done a lot of work trying to get fit and make himself available when he wasn't 100 per cent. He is showing great spirit and attitude towards the team."