Big Pete: We're not giving up the title race

"We are still fighting for the title. As long as we keep fighting, we"ll have a chance. We have a difficult game at Everton, but if we beat them we cut the gap to two and then Manchester United have to come to Stamford Bridge," he said. "We"re not throwing the towel in yet."

Petr Cech"s contribution to the fight was illustrated by how he had implored the Chelsea medical staff to let him face Wigan. "It was a bit of a risk to decide to play this game but I have been missing football for such a long time," said the Czech Republic international, who had not appeared since the 4-0 victory over West Ham on March 1.

"When I got the protection for my face I decided to ask the doctor if they would let me play. He was not completely happy about it but he respected my decision and it was good to be back on the pitch. I wanted to play, I wasn"t forced to play, and I had no fear."

"We need to concentrate on ourselves and win every game because our destiny is not in our hands and we need to wait to see if someone can beat Manchester United. Maybe it could happen with Blackburn on Saturday" he said. "The best thing about the Premier League is that all the teams have quality and there is always pressure because games aren"t easy to win."