Salomon Kalou feels Chelsea will have the critics eating their words by the end of the season. Chelsea's players have been pilloried for their performances all season but still go into the last two months of the campaign with a Champions League quarter-final against Benfica, an FA Cup semi-final with Tottenham or Bolton and a realistic chance of finishing in the top four in the Premier League.

Kalou told the London Evening Standard: "People thought Chelsea were finished, that the season was over. They will have regrets saying that because with the players we have, you can never say that we're done. We have the team who can bounce back every game and I am happy that we're playing like this again.

"I believe the way we qualified for the quarter-finals of the Champions League [beating Napoli] was the way to show everyone Chelsea are still around.

"It's a strength and shows that we are having a good time again. When you win you have a good spirit. We are all feeling happy to come to training and progress every day."