Chelsea manager Carlos Ancelotti has admitted that the performance of Daniel Sturridge in the 5-0 FA Cup win over Watford was very important.
The 20-year old striker netted his first goals for the Blues in the 5th and 68th minutes, showing that he is a capable goalscorer, especially in the absence of Didier Drogba who is away on international duty with Ivory Coast at the African Cup of Nations.
Sturridge's showing was praised by Ancelotti who now has faith that the playing squad can get the job done without their four star Africans - Drogba, Michael Essien, John Obi Mikel and Salomon Kalou.
"I am happy because it was important to start the new year well, and to play this game well," said Ancelotti.
"If we hadn't taken the game in the right way, it could have been difficult. But we started well, played well and were 3-0 up after 20 minutes.
"It was a good performance and Sturridge played very well. It's important for us to have him in good condition because, without Drogba, it is important to have him in good condition.
"He scored two goals and that's important for a striker, to score. But he deserved that. He played very well for the whole match.
"This performance was very important for him. It'll improve his confidence. He has a lot of potential and great quality, and he can show that on the pitch in January.
"I think that we can do a good January, good performances without the African players. I had good answers about other players. Juliano Belletti played very well in central midfield. I think we can do good performances without the other African players.
"My players know very well how important the FA Cup is for this club, for this country. We want to do our best and arrive in the final. We won the FA Cup last year and we want to do the same. We want to put our best in this competition."