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Chelsea’s
midfielder, John Obi Mikel, on Monday, admitted that the entire Chelsea
squad are traumatized by the club’s recent slump.

Chelsea suffered a
shock 1-0 loss to Birmingham City last Saturday at Saint Andrew’s to
record their second league defeat on the trot. It was also their third
defeat in their last four league games but they remain top of the
English Premier League table but only on goal difference from
Manchester United.

The slump is
Chelsea’s worst since losing three in a row under another Italian
manager, Claudio Ranieri, back in the 2002/2003 season. Chelsea have
lost a five-point lead they had at the start of November. “We’re all
just shocked,” said the midfielder, in a report carried by the London
Evening Standard. “Last week we lost not playing well against
Sunderland but this week we played well and created a lot of chances.
We are all really, really devastated, we are all really sad about the
Birmingham game. We know how well we controlled the game but that’s
football.” Last Saturday’s loss was Chelsea’s first to Birmingham in 30
years. However, they had much better control of the game and carved
their opponents open over and over again but their profligacy in front
of goal, as well as some inspired goalkeeping from Ben Forster, meant
they were unable to cancel out Lee Bowyer’s 17th minute goal. “They had
one chance and it wasn’t even a chance – it was just a long ball and a
knockdown,” said Mikel. “It’s just crazy and we don’t know what to say
about it.”

Ancelotti to remain in charge

Chelsea’s recent
poor form gave rise to speculation surrounding the future of the club’s
manager, but Ancelotti, on Monday, came out to quash the rumours saying
he had no intention of quitting the London based outfit. The media in
England widely reported that the 51-year-old Italian was on the verge
of leaving the league champions, but Ancelotti emphatically denied
having any such intention. “These rumours are totally untrue,” he said
at a press conference ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League match against
Zilina. “I don’t know why these rumours came out today in the papers. I
have a contract here until 2012, I would like to stay here, I love this
club and these players, and I have a lot of confidence in the squad.
Obviously I am under pressure because at a team like Chelsea we want to
win every game, but I am focused on (getting) my team to play better
than we are doing at this moment.”