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Title challengers can't afford to be April fools - Ancelotti

Carlo Ancelotti has confidence in his Chelsea side © Getty Images

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Carlo Ancelotti believes it is not just Chelsea who cannot afford to slip up in April as the Premier League title race hots up.

The Blues are currently nine points behind league leaders Manchester United with a game in hand, with Arsenal enjoying a four-point advantage over their London rivals. With less than ten games remaining the margin for error is small for the defending champions, but Ancelotti is acutely aware April is when the title race enters a make-or-break phase and is certain none of the three teams at the top of the table can afford a slip-up.

"For every team, to make a mistake now is very dangerous - not just for us," Ancelotti said. "Every team is involved in their aims, so if there is a mistake here you can lose your possibility to win something. It is not just for us, I think also Man United and Arsenal cannot do a mistake - but this is football and always in April you have to play like it's a cup final."

After starting the season well, Chelsea suffered a horrendous period at the end of 2010 that threatened to derail their domestic ambitions entirely. Having clawed their way back into a position where they can still contend, Ancelotti believes it would be foolish to write his side off just yet.

"Three months ago, November or December, it was a dream to arrive here in this situation," he noted. "I don't know what we can do until the end of the season but we have the possibility to fight and do our best."

Having suffered no injury scares during the international break, Ancelotti believes his squad are ready to pick up where they left off after some impressive recent results.

"We did very well, we won in the Champions League [against Copenhagen], against Man City and Manchester United," he said. "We come back to play our football, to have confidence.

"We have come into a very busy moment but we are ready to play games every three days because all the players are fit and all the players are motivated. I think we are ready."

Ancelotti admitted he "doesn't have a preference in this moment" when it comes to his attacking partnership, and distanced the club from speculation they are in negotiations to sign Brazilian youngster Neymar - who scored twice against Scotland in a friendly at Emirates Stadium and subsequently hinted he would like to move to Chelsea.

"It's good news because it's good for the club and the manager if players want to come here," he said. "It shows the rumours are true - there's a good atmosphere here. He's very young, a fantastic talent. At this moment, we're not interested.

"It was a good performance [against Scotland], but the best player on the pitch was Ramires - 100%."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.