Ross Turnbull Hunting Premier League & FA Cup Double After Crashing Out Of Champions League With Chelsea

Chelsea goalkeeper Ross Turnbull wants the Blues to bounce back from their disappointing Champions League exit at the hands of Jose Mourinho's Inter by winning a Premier League and FA Cup double.

The former Middlesbrough youngster was called into action for the game against the Italian giants at Stamford Bridge with Petr Cech and Hilario both injured.

Although he was happy with the standard of his personal performance, the keeper would rather the team had made it to the quarter finals of the competition.

"I was pleased with my performance, that's a positive but I'd much rather us be in the last eight," Turnbull told his club's offiical website.

"We set out to win the game and go through but it wasn't to be, we didn't perform on the night. We have two other competitions we can still win though, and winning them has to be our aim.

"Every game now is a big one and we have to step up and do our stuff."

Turnbull also admits that not playing regular first team football can make it difficult to stay focused. However, he is well aware that professionalism demands he trains hard and stays as sharp as possible.

"I will always work hard, but it does get frustrating when you train Monday to Friday and on Saturday you're in the stands, it's not easy wanting to get that chance, but I absolutely love it here," he added.

"Training is fantastic every day, they're all world-class players, but every professional wants to play, but equally as a professional you have to stay patient and focused.

"I want to play but at the same time I don't wish ill health on Petr or Hilario, they're friends. Football is funny, it's not an 11-man game anymore, it's a big squad game and people are starting to understand that.

"You will get injuries and you need a big squad. If the games continue to come, great, but if not I will support Pete and H as much as I can. The most important thing is for the team to have success.

"My chance to make a contribution is now and it would be nice to look back at the end of the season having done my part. As I said every game now is a big one and we have to step up and do our stuff."

Cech A Possibility For Blackburn Clash

Carlo Ancelotti may have Petr Cech available for selection as we look to recover from Champions League disappointment at Blackburn on Sunday.

The goalkeeper has been out with a calf injury since our European first leg defeat at Inter on February 24, but has now returned to training. Ancelotti will monitor the situation before leaving for the north-west on Saturday afternoon.

'Cech trained on Friday, but is doubtful for Sunday,' Ancelotti said on Friday afternoon. 'He will train today and we will take a decision for the game against Blackburn.'

Hilario is still absent though, meaning Ross Turnbull, who has deputised in the last two matches, could continue. Meanwhile, Turnbull called for focus as we aim for an FA Cup and Barclays Premier League double and his manager was in full agreement.

'Now we have to look at the Premier League and the FA Cup. It is not an easy moment because we are out from an important competition, the Champions League, we are disappointed for this but this is football and we have to look forward to the next game,' the manager said.

'I can say that we have to have a very good reaction, every game will be very important and we have 10 or 11 games to the end of the season. We can do a fantastic season because we are involved in two important competitions and after this disappointment we need a good reaction on Sunday.

'Our destiny is in our hands, if we win every game we can do the Double, and it is very difficult, but we can try. It is very important to think about this, only five teams won the Double in 140 years here in England. It is our aim.'

Three days after exiting Europe, spirits are beginning to lift and Ancelotti was keen to express he still has faith in the players at his disposal.

'I have trust in these players. I have confidence and it can happen sometimes that we are not able to do what we want,' he explained. 'I have fantastic, professional players and we have very good direction.

'We want to play football - I always said our aim is to play good football. We missed the last game but want to come back to play good football against Blackburn.'

Juventus Close To Chelsea's Frank Lampard

Juventus are following Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard, and have opened up a line of communication with the player's agent, according to Tuttosport.

General director Roberto Bettega is said to have met Steve Kutner, Lampard's agent, on Tuesday. The pair spoke about the Blues midfielder with Juventus, and Bettega, being long-time admirers of him.

Furthermore, the men shared opinions on Felipe Melo, Amauri and Jonathan Zebina - players who have all been linked with summer exits.

Brazilian midfielder Melo has had a turbulent season in Turin, and he has often been connected with a move to Arsenal.

Schweinsteiger Dashes Blues Link

Bastian Schweinsteiger has played down speculation linking him with a summer switch to Chelsea.

The Bayern Munich midfielder is under contract at Allianz Arena until 2012 and claims he has no intention of breaking that agreement.

He has been linked with a move to England amid reports Chelsea are planning an overhaul of their playing staff.

An ageing squad is set to be shaken up, with a host of top names reported to be on the Stamford Bridge hit-list.

Schweinsteiger is said to be among them but the Germany international, who admits to being a fan of the Premier League, is adamant he is staying put for now.

"I have extended my contract with Bayern Munich until 2012 and I assume that I will play for this club for even longer than that," he said.

"I would hope that our relationship can continue to develop in the future. But many things are possible.

"The atmosphere in English stadiums is unique and the standard of play is very high, because there are many great players there."

Ancelotti Excited About Young Talent Coming Through At Chelsea

Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti says he's excited about the young talent coming through at Stamford Bridge.

He has given youth a chance this season more than any other manager in the era of the Russian multi-billionaire and the Italian is committed to his philosophy.

Indeed, for Daniel Sturridge, Gael Kakuta, Fabio Borini, Jeffrey Bruma and Nemanja Matic, they can expect to play a much bigger part in the next campaign.

Ancelotti said so himself at a club event last week. He revealed: “All the young players have impressed me. They are all very young — Borini was born in 1991, Bruma 1991, Kakuta 1991, Matic 1988 and Sturridge 1989.

“All these players can have a future in this club. They need to improve and they are working to improve. But I think next year all these players will be in the squad.”

Ancelotti Not Thinking Of Clear-Out

Carlo Ancelotti insists it is far too early to talk about a summer clear-out at Stamford Bridge following Chelsea's Champions League exit to Inter Milan.

Chelsea's Italian coach has already refocused his seasonal ambitions on achieving the domestic Premier League and FA Cup double following their disastrous European exit in midweek.

But while Ancelotti remains adamant that he has not spoken to owner Roman Abramovich about plans for next season, he accepts there will be new faces.

Much has been made of Chelsea's ageing side since their defeat at the hands of Jose Mourinho's Inter but Ancelotti is refusing to press the panic button.

When asked if he was looking at a major overhaul of the squad during the summer, Ancelotti replied: "We haven't planned. It's not the time now to plan.

"We have to look to the next game. We have 11 matches left until the end of the season and, after them, we'll have a lot of time to speak about the future of this team.

"It's normal that, with a new season, there are new faces. This is normal.

"Really, now, I want to think about this team. I want to put this team in the best position until the end of the season.

"Now is not the right moment, we have other things to think about. We have to look at the Premier League and the FA Cup.

"This is not an easy moment because we are out of the important competition, the Champions League, and we are disappointed about this.

"But this is football and we have to look forward to the next game. We have to have a very good reaction in the next game. Every game will be very important for us.

"We have 10 or 11 games before the end of the season and we can still do a fantastic season. We are involved in two important competitions so, after this disappointment, we need to have a good reaction."

Abramovich spoke with Ancelotti and his squad at their Cobham training ground on Thursday but the Italian insists it was nothing more sinister than to demonstrate his support for their efforts.

"Roman was here on Thursday and spoke with me and with the players," confirmed Ancelotti. "He came here to support us because he knows very well football and he knows that we are involved in important competitions again. So I think his presence here was very good.

"We didn't speak about the future, about the changes for next season, because it's not the right time to speak about this.

"I said we have important games in the next week and we have to stay focused - all the players and all the club.

"Roman was disappointed and he's the owner of a club that's out of the Champions League. Everyone was disappointed about the last game against Inter.

"We didn't have a good performance on Tuesday because I said we'd lost the confidence in our play.

"We didn't play like we wanted. I think the players tried to do their best, but we didn't do our best. I have trust in these players, confidence.

"It can happen that, sometimes, we are not able to do what we want. But nothing else. I have fantastic, professional players and we will have a very good reaction.

"We have to train, we have to train every day. We have to maintain a good control of our players.

"We did very well in this season, changed something by putting a different identity in the team.

"We want to play good football - that has always been our aim - and we did that for a long time. We didn't in the last game, but we want to come back and play good football against Blackburn.

"We have to be strong, sure, and maintain good control of our emotions, but the players have good quality to do this."

Chelsea's double hunt begins in earnest against Blackburn on Sunday but Ancelotti knows they must keep on winning until the end of the campaign.

"We have a very important trophy again to pursue. We are in the semi-finals of the FA Cup and, maybe, two points behind Manchester United but with a game in hand," said Ancelotti.

"So our destiny is in our own hands. If we win every game, we can do the double. That's very difficult, but we can try to do this. That's very important, to think about this.

"Only five teams, I think, have won a double in 140 years here in England. It's not easy, but we can think about this and do our best. That's our aim."

Salomon Kalou Set To Lead Summer Exodus As Chelsea Plan Massive Clearout

Chelsea are ready to launch a summer clear-out of Carlo Ancelotti's squad, with striker Salomon Kalou heading up a list of star names who could be set to depart, according to a report from The Guardian.

Deco, Ricardo Carvalho, Paulo Ferreira, Juliano Belletti are also believed to be set to depart from Stamford Bridge, with Deco having recently told Brazilian radio that a move back to South America in the summer would suit him for family reasons.

Contract negotiations with Nicolas Anelka, Joe Cole and Michael Ballack could all be affected by a reported desire amongst the Chelsea hierarchy to revitalise an ageing and seemingly somewhat jaded squad.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has been rumoured to be interested in making a move for Kalou in the past, with the Gunners chief believed to have made an enquiry when he sold Emmanuel Adebayor to Manchester City.

Roman Abramovich Blind To Real Problem At Chelsea

Claudio Ranieri, Jose Mourinho, Avram Grant, Luiz Felipe Scolari and, now, Carlo Ancelotti. It is all your fault that Chelsea have failed to win the Champions League, as far as Roman Abramovich is concerned.

Abramovich privately fumes about the amount of money he has spent and – in his reasoning – the unacceptable return he has received. As the Chelsea owner would have it, it's their fault that too many players and agents have grown ridiculously rich at the Russian's expense and that he has had to – Ancelotti, for now, apart – sack them all.

No one knows, for sure, what goes on in Abramovich's mind. He speaks sparingly, even to those closest to him, but having taken soundings following Chelsea's exit to Inter Milan on Tuesday, a game when it was clear that this team had run their course, the response appears to be the same: blame the manager.

Yes, the players received flak – Joe Cole, Michael Ballack, Frank Lampard, John Terry and Didier Drogba, especially, came in for criticism. All the big names with the biggest pay packets, in fact. But that was part of a theme.

These guys have cost Abramovich a fortune whereas the likes of Alex and Salomon Kalou haven't and, according to the reaction from 'the big guy', appeared to be the only ones really trying.

Abramovich has been told often enough he needs to spend big again and he is prepared to – but it will have to be, for example, Sergio Aguero at £30 million rather than the £40 million that Atletico Madrid want. And the prices for Franck Ribery, Fernando Torres, David Villa all, similarly, have to come down to attract Abramovich.

He's also been told that it's time to move some of the big names on. There are those who maintain Manchester City's offer of £30 million for John Terry should have been accepted.

But Abramovich doesn't accept it. And the core of his argument highlights his blindness to what goes wrong at Chelsea. He tells his friends this: why can't all the expensive coaches he's hired (with the exception of Mourinho, who left because he couldn't get on with the boss) mould a team in the way that Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsène Wenger have? The answer, as they say, is in the question, Roman.

ASHLEY COLE TAKES STEP FORWARD

He tried to hide his presence but it was, unmistakably, Ashley Cole in the Stamford Bridge press room before Tuesday's match. He had the hood of his black top pulled over his head and was trying to squeeze himself into a corner so he wasn't noticed as he talked to who he was there to talk to.

Fair enough. There wasn't much chance the media were going to bother him anyway. What was more interesting was the fact that not only did Cole appearing to be walking comfortably, and able to put weight on his broken ankle, but that he also had a little turn of pace as he quickly exited the room once his conversation was finished. No limp. It would appear he's well on the way to recovery, which is good news for England as well as Chelsea.

PORTUGUESE TEARS OF WAR

There was some damage done on the night, however. Jose Mourinho left Stamford Bridge late on with his right hand bandaged up. It begged the question: had Roman Abramovich – or more probably one of his pumped-up bodyguards – inflicted some damage in a bone-crushing handshake of congratulations? The answer was more prosaic: Mourinho's fingers had been trapped in a door he held open for someone in the corridors of Stamford Bridge. It brought a tear to his eye. But it wasn't the only one he shed.

One reason for the long delay before Mourinho addressed the media following Inter's victory was because he wanted to compose himself. Such was the understandable emotion of the occasion that Mourinho had sobbed, tears of relief and, perhaps, regret in the away dressing room.

FOREIGN FIELDS A BIGGER LURE

Just two English clubs – Manchester United and Arsenal – will be in the draw for the last eight of the Champions League on Friday, which may lead to some hand-wringing at the Premier League. After all, with three representatives in the semi-finals for the past two seasons, and England the powerhouse of domestic football, then surely their dominance was set to continue?

It's not exactly a poor showing – indeed the spread of countries, with France the only other with two clubs, is a healthy thing. But it does puncture the myth that leading foreign players come to England because of the football, the excitement, the competition and the crowds. With a 50 per cent tax rate kicking in and the pound continuing to be weak against the euro, the reason why some players – especially those in France – are less keen to move is the reason why they wanted to come here in the first place: money.