• Premier League

Cahill: Chelsea not out of title race

Gary Cahill is not giving up hope on the title © PA Photos

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Chelsea defender Gary Cahill is refusing to give up hope on landing the Premier League title, believing a run of wins could put the side back into contention.

Despite a 2-1 victory over Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, the Blues still find themselves 11 points behind league-leaders Manchester United and six points behind second-placed Manchester City.

Interim-manager Rafael Benitez has already accepted that Chelsea's best hopes of silverware lie in the cup competitions this season, however, Cahill insists they must be ready to capitalise should either of the clubs above them drop any points.

"We are looking up, not down, and want to try and chase first and second spots. Yes we are looking at the Manchester clubs,'' he said.

"It has been frustrating because there have been many times this season where we have nearly got ourselves back involved, only to let it slip. But we are more than capable of putting a run together and winning nine out of ten games. That's what we need to aim for and see where it takes us.

"We have got to make sure we are in one of the spots for the Champions League. We also have the cup competitions and we want to go as far as we possibly can in them. We just want to win games. A lot of teams have slipped up this season, so we need to win as many as we can.''

With the games coming thick and fast at the moment Cahill admits that they are starting to take their toll on the Blues squad.

Yet the England international feels that they can take a lot of heart from the Arsenal victory - three points that put a stop to their three games without a win at Stamford Bridge.

"It's demanding because you want to go into a game feeling 100% - that is your best chance to get the best result and play at your best,'' he said. "But at the minute it's impossible to feel 100% fresh. It's difficult but we can't use it as an excuse.

"We dug in and got the result against Arsenal and sometimes you need to do that - the other night against Southampton we didn't. That's the positive to take out of it.

"We possess the players and the class to hurt teams - consistency is key for us. Sometimes we have had results go against us when we were expected to win, but we certainly have the talent as we showed in the first half against Arsenal when we created so many chances and the game could have been dead and buried.''

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