Deco Issues Battle Cry

Deco has ordered his Chelsea team-mates to view the final rounds of the Barclays Premier League title race as a "war".

The challenge for Manchester United's crown will go down to the wire with Chelsea occupying top spot, one point ahead of their rivals.

Three matches remain, starting with Sunday's showdown with Stoke at Stamford Bridge and continuing at Liverpool before concluding at home against Wigan.

Deco insists Chelsea remain in pole position and has declared it is time to seize the opportunity.

"The first thing we need to know is that we are first," he told club website www.chelseafc.com.

"The last three games will be difficult and of course there is pressure in our minds because we need to win our games if Man Utd win theirs.

"It is a war and we need to be prepared, but if you said on the first day of the Premier League in August we would be one point clear with three games to go, two at home and one game away, we would all say 'okay, we'll sign'!

"This is okay. It would be better if we won or Man Utd lost on the weekend, but that didn't happen.

"Now our moment is here - we have three games and we need to play well and be together."

Chelsea's title hopes suffered a major setback with Saturday's 2-1 defeat by Tottenham.

Deco, whose return to the side in the past month has coincided with a run of five straight wins until last weekend, dismisses the significance of the result.

"We knew at 2-0 we could score. We tried and had chances but didn't score. It was frustrating but we need to carry on," he said.

"I don't think we played a bad game - we didn't have a lot of luck - and we need to recognise they played well."

Carlo Ancelotti: John Terry's Absence Is 'Not A Problem' For Chelsea

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti is not sweating over the loss of club captain John Terry, because Branislav Ivanovic is back to provide cover.

Terry will miss Sunday's Premier League game with Stoke City after being sent-off in last weekend's disappointing defeat to Tottenham Hotspur. Ivanovic has been absent for a number of weeks after limping off in last month's draw with Blackburn Rovers, but Ancelotti believes the Serbian has returned to full fitness just in time to cover for the loss of the Blues' captain.

Ivanovic has played right-back for the majority of the season in the absence of Jose Bosingwa, but Ancelotti is a firm admirer of his ability in the centre — his natural position.

"John Terry is an important absence for us but now we have Ivanovic fit we can substitute him into the centre position very well because Ivanovic is a centre-back," Ancelotti told reporters.

"He played a lot of games as a right-back but he has the quality to be a centre-back, so for this we will not have a problem."

Ancelotti also revealed that left-back Ashley Cole is ready to return to the starting lineup. The England international has been out for almost two months after picking up an ankle injury against Everton, but after his substitute role last weekend is now approaching full fitness.

"Ashley has a realistic chance to start because he is fit and he wants to play," he said.

"He has the desire to play, because he was out for a long time and he has the will to play."

Didier Drogba: Home Comforts Can Give Chelsea Title Advantage

Chelsea striker Didier Drogba believes home advantage could be crucial as the Blues look to win their first Premier League title since 2006.

Carlo Ancelotti's side are currently one point ahead of Manchester United with three games left, the first of which is against 11th placed Stoke City at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

Chelsea have dropped just five points at home in their 17 league games to date, something the Ivorian believes should give them confidence ahead of Stoke's visit — but not arrogance.

"We have done well at home," Drogba told the club's official website.

"You never know what can happen, games are difficult now. Some teams are trying to save lives but some teams are playing for little and can enjoy themselves, and sometimes then you play better.

"It is going to be difficult — but it is up to us."

Drogba, the club's top scorer after a stellar individual campaign, believes that the crowd can have a big part to play in willing their team to victory, and has called upon them to deliver the atmosphere that has helped on big occasions in the past.

"We need the fans to be really behind us, to be even better than against Bolton [where they won 1-0] in the last game," he said.

"Sunday is the kind of game that we are going to have until the end of the season so we need them to be patient and to really shout and sing and be supportive, that is the only way to win it.

"I remember the games when we were champions, like against Charlton the game after we won it in 2005, and against Manchester United the next year. The atmosphere was amazing, and also on the Champions League nights against Liverpool at Stamford Bridge.

"These are the kind of atmosphere from the Chelsea supporters when it matters, and now it matters. It is important for them to be there and help us to achieve it."

Drogba's participation is unsure, however, thanks to a hernia injury. But his goals this season have seen the Ivorian come in at No.6 on the Castrol Rankings, making him the Premier League's third best forward behind Fernando Torres (5) and Wayne Rooney (3).

AC Milan Ready To Sell £43m Alexandre Pato To Chelsea

AC Milan are ready to sell star striker Alexandre Pato to Chelsea for £43 million, according to reports from Italy.

Corriere dello Sport are reporting that a new cost-cutting regime at San Siro means the young Brazilian is for sale, but only at the right price. The Rossoneri rejected a £39m bid from the Blues last summer, but the paper believes a slight increase on that offer this summer could see the 20-year-old heading for west London.

Pato has scored 14 goals in 28 games so far this season for Leonardo's side, but is still sweating on Brazil coach Dunga to see whether he'll be making the trip to South Africa for the World Cup in the summer.

If the move is finalised, the paper also reports that Mario Balotelli of rivals Inter will be targeted as a replacement for the 2007 European champions.

The Italian has long been out of favour with Nerazzurri fans, having only recently patched up a disagreement with manager Jose Mourinho, and has previously admitted to being a childhood AC fan.

Pato is the fourth highest ranked forward in Serie A, rated at No.137 in the Castrol Rankings. Only Luca Toni (59), Antonio Di Natale (43) and Alberto Gilardino (30) are rated higher.

Chelsea's Michael Mancienne Open To Staying At Wolverhampton Wanderers

Chelsea defender Michael Mancienne, currently on-loan at Wolverhampton Wanderers, would welcome the chance to stay in the midlands for another season.

The 22-year-old, who has recently excelled playing as a holding midfielder, joined Wolves for a spell last season, and has spent the entire current campaign with Mick McCarthy’s side.

It is currently unknown as to what Carlo Ancelotti has planned for Mancienne, but the England under-21 international is more than happy to stay at Molineux, playing for a Wolves side who are all but assured of another season in the top-flight.

"I want to do the best I can for Wolves to get them safe and then concentrate on where I'm going to be next season," Mancienne told the Express & Star.

"But if I was to come on loan again, Wolves would definitely be in my thoughts. I'm not 100 per cent sure what's happening next season - I've just got to take it as it comes.

"But I'm enjoying it here at Wolves - I get along with all the boys and we're all roughly the same age. There are no bad eggs in the camp."

And Mancienne, who has impressed during both loan spells at Molineux, so much so that Fabio Capello called him up to the full England squad whilst playing in the Championship last season, is ecstatic with his development at Wolves.

"I've definitely progressed as a player," he added. "Playing week-in, week-out has helped me mature as a player because I'm playing against top quality players in the Premier League - that can only be good for my game because it helps me learn."

Ancelotti To Snub Man United Match For Flicks

If Carlo Ancelotti was feeling any anxiety at reaching the final straight of the Premier League race with Sir Alex Ferguson's breath on his neck, he was determined not to show it on Friday.

The Italian coach said he would even find the time to go the cinema before his Chelsea team take on Stoke City on Sunday.

Looking cheerful and relaxed after a practice session at Chelsea's sun-drenched training ground the Italian coach joked he intended to watch Clash of the Titans on Saturday rather than Manchester United taking on Tottenham Hotspur with the chance of leap-frogging his side.

Chelsea enjoy an advantage of only one point with three games left but Ancelotti has long experience as both player and coach of tight championship races.

"I'm not worried because I know football very well. At the end of the season it is always like this. You have to reach your target," Ancelotti said.

"Pressure is the engine of life for me but it's important to maintain control of the stress so instead of staying in front of the television watching that game it's better to go to the cinema."

His task against Stoke City on Sunday, whether United win or lose will be to calm his increasingly anxious side.

"We have a great opportunity to win and so we have to stay calm and quiet. We have to prepare well, without emotion," Ancelotti said. "Of course it's difficult but we don't want to miss the chance."

The players, who failed to consolidate their advantage last week with a lacklustre 2-1 defeat at Tottenham during which captain John Terry was sent off, are feeling the strain more than their boss.

"I think the players feel the pressure now because they are very close to winning the title," the Italian, in his first season in England, said.

"For the last three years they have not won. But that's normal - it's better to be like this than to be 10 points behind and chasing nothing.

"I'm excited at the moment," the track-suited coach said relaxing back in his chair and showing no signs of the emotion. "Because it's the most important time of the season - there's a good atmosphere."

Carlo Ancelotti: Ghost Of Jose Mourinho Doesn't Haunt Me Or Chelsea

Carlo Ancelotti does not believe that he and Chelsea are still living in the shadow of former manager Jose Mourinho, who left the club in 2007.

Blues midfielder Joe Cole said this week that the west London club needed to win their first major silverware since the Special One's acrimonious departure in order to finally put his ghost to rest, but Ancelotti doesn't agree.

The Italian has not always seen eye-to-eye with the Portuguese tactician, but despite losing to his Inter side in the Champions League this year does not feel he and the Blues are still in his shadow.

"I understand two things, ghost and Mourinho," Ancelotti told reporters.

"Maybe it's true if Joe Cole says this, but Mourinho is not my ghost.

"He's a very good coach. He's doing a fantastic job at Inter. He did a fantastic Champions League semi-final against Barcelona. But now it's a different story."

Cole was part of Mourinho's Chelsea squad when they last won the league title, in 2006. Now within reach of another success, Cole is hoping the squad can finally go on and win the trophy that has eluded them for three years.

"The fact we have not won the title since Mourinho is probably hanging over us," Cole said.

"We have only won one cup since then and been within the width of a post of winning the Champions League.

"We're hoping it's going to happen this season. We have put ourselves in a great position. Jose is a great manager but he is not the be all and end all for a football club, no one is. It's about the dynamics and how the club works.

"The most frustrating thing for us really is that we should be six or seven points clear."