With four wins from four in the bread and butter of Premier League football, the spotlight now turns to the Champions League as we begin another European campaign.
For Carlo Ancelotti, the hunt for a third European Cup triumph starts while success in this competition would be a first for Chelsea, something the manager is only too aware of, though he insists any pressure to win club football's greatest prize comes only from him.
'I don't want to think the Champions League is more important than the Premier League,' said the Italian. 'Both were very important last season, this season the normal thing is to think more about the Champions League, but we don't want to say the Premier League is not important.
'We would like to win again, and the normal step is to want to do better in the Champions League. We went out too early and want to do better this season.
'Our aim is to improve if it is possible our kind of play to have more continuity, to do better and stay involved in all the competitions until the end of the season, to give continuity to the victory of last season.
'I'm not under pressure, I will put myself under pressure, I don't have pressure from outside. I want to put myself under pressure because I want to win. Roman [Abramovich] was very happy about the victory of the Double.'
Such success in his first season at Stamford Bridge went a long way to matching some of Ancelotti's achievements during his eight years with AC Milan, and he hopes he can keep this squad together for many years to come, dismissing suggestions that he heads an ageing squad.
'I don't want to consider players that are 30 old, they are in the middle of their career, they have experience,' he stressed. 'Now the physical training has improved a lot compared to 20 years ago, now there is more control, you can control the physical training and recovery.
'Thirty years old is the right moment. When I was a player my best moment was when I was 30, so I cannot say a player of this age is old.
'I want to stay here as long as possible,' the former midfielder continued. 'I feel good; I love this atmosphere around football, so I would like to stay here.
'I am not interested to go to another side. When I finished my work in Milan I chose the right place to work.'
For Carlo Ancelotti, the hunt for a third European Cup triumph starts while success in this competition would be a first for Chelsea, something the manager is only too aware of, though he insists any pressure to win club football's greatest prize comes only from him.
'I don't want to think the Champions League is more important than the Premier League,' said the Italian. 'Both were very important last season, this season the normal thing is to think more about the Champions League, but we don't want to say the Premier League is not important.
'We would like to win again, and the normal step is to want to do better in the Champions League. We went out too early and want to do better this season.
'Our aim is to improve if it is possible our kind of play to have more continuity, to do better and stay involved in all the competitions until the end of the season, to give continuity to the victory of last season.
'I'm not under pressure, I will put myself under pressure, I don't have pressure from outside. I want to put myself under pressure because I want to win. Roman [Abramovich] was very happy about the victory of the Double.'
Such success in his first season at Stamford Bridge went a long way to matching some of Ancelotti's achievements during his eight years with AC Milan, and he hopes he can keep this squad together for many years to come, dismissing suggestions that he heads an ageing squad.
'I don't want to consider players that are 30 old, they are in the middle of their career, they have experience,' he stressed. 'Now the physical training has improved a lot compared to 20 years ago, now there is more control, you can control the physical training and recovery.
'Thirty years old is the right moment. When I was a player my best moment was when I was 30, so I cannot say a player of this age is old.
'I want to stay here as long as possible,' the former midfielder continued. 'I feel good; I love this atmosphere around football, so I would like to stay here.
'I am not interested to go to another side. When I finished my work in Milan I chose the right place to work.'
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