Source: Telegraph
John Terry keen to crank up the pressure on 'vulnerable' Manchester United
Although United remain four points clear with a game in hand, they have scored and conceded the same number of goals as their Premier League rivals in second place and the Chelsea captain said: "If they slip up, they know we're coming up behind them."[LNB]Chelsea were galvanised on Monday on learning that Didier Drogba, who limped off during Sunday's 1-0 win over Manchester City, was likely to be fit to face Tottenham at White Hart Lane this Saturday. [LNB] Related Articles'Essien vital to treble challenge'[LNB]Hiddink hopes for United tension[LNB]Deco to miss rest of season[LNB]City on the road to nowhere[LNB]Premier League's Penguin[LNB]Have Liverpool blown the title race open?[LNB]The contrast between United's shambolic performance against Liverpool and Chelsea's obduracy in thwarting City, which echoed the halcyon days of Jose Mourinho, was inescapable and Terry called on his team-mates to harness the shift in momentum. [LNB]"United have good players, but after a big defeat like they had last weekend you never know how they're going to react," the centre-back said. "We hope they're going to go on a bad run, but the main thing for us to do is to keep winning and applying the pressure."[LNB]Chelsea do not seem able to stop winning under Hiddink, who has won five of his first six matches in charge to transform their season. Terry explained: "Since the new manager has come in here we have played very well and got the right results. He has changed a few things and given a few of us a kick up the backside, which I think we needed."[LNB]The captain reserved particular plaudits for Michael Essien, describing him as a "machine" after the midfielder returned from cruciate ligament damage to score two goals on his first two full starts, including the winner against City. [LNB]"Only Michael could do that," Terry said. "Only he could come back and play as well as he has been. After so long out you think it would take three or four games to find his feet, but he is an absolute machine. You see him working his socks off for six months in the gym and it pays dividends."[LNB]Florent Malouda, the winger who has proved an abject disappointment this season, believed that Essien could make the difference for Chelsea in chasing United. [LNB]"When you spend six months injured and you have this positive attitude, this commitment, you want to prove that the time on the sidelines is not lost. He is going to be really important in our midfield play. Michael has that spirit, he will improve our game."[LNB]The restoration of Essien is looking more timely by the day after Hiddink admitted that Deco, who has assumed the role of midfield playmaker for much of the Ghanaian's absence, could miss the rest of the season with the leg muscle injury he sustained on Sunday. [LNB]Despite the Dutchman's claim that he had "doubts" about whether the Portuguese would play again before the summer, Deco appeared to take a more optimistic view yesterday, saying he still hoped to be available for his country's World Cup qualifier against Sweden on Mar 28. [LNB]"I don't think the injury will stop me," said Deco, who retired hurt just 20 minutes into Sunday's victory. [LNB]"I still need to be examined, but the first impression is that in three or four days I'll be training without limitations. "It's a problem in the inside of my left thigh. About five minutes before I was attended to by the masseur. There was a move in which my leg didn't support me well and I felt a pain, so it was better to come off so as not to run any risks."[LNB]
