Gud is best for Mourinho

JOSE MOURINHO will continue to champion the cause of Eidur Gudjohnsen even though the Icelandic striker failed to kill off battling Bolton at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

The Chelsea manager is right behind his leading goalscorer, who twice failed to finish off Sam Allardyce's stubborn side and in a display of mutual appreciation, the striker says he is now more confident under Mourinho than he ever was under previous manager Claudio Ranieri.

Mourinho said: "I prefer to think about Gudjohnsen for the winning goal he scored for us in Newcastle in the Carling Cup and in other good moments.

"Of course he did not score but they were two difficult chances. The chance where he hit the bar, he had created a very good situation for himself. The other chance he should have scored but he is a great player and a great lad. I have a lot of confidence in him."

Gudjohnsen remains Chelsea's leading scorer this season with seven goals and the player believes the arrival of Mourinho has worked wonders to restore the self-belief he felt was lacking under Ranieri.

He arrived at Chelsea from Bolton and played mostly in a 3-4-3 formation that did not particularly suit him. But it is all different nowadays under Mourinho.

Gudjohnsen said: "It was a funny time with Claudio. Sometimes I felt he believed in me. Other times I felt as though I was taking a hit on my confidence. That is something that has changed completely with the new manager."

Bolton staged a remarkable fightback after going two goals behind to Damien Duff's 36-second opener and Tiago's super volley just two minutes after the interval. But Chelsea's inability to deal with two set pieces proved to be their undoing as they conceded two goals for the first time this season.

In the 51st minute, the normally reliable Petr Cech failed to cut out Gary Speed's free-kick and Kevin Davies headed the ball into the empty net. Then with Chelsea just four minutes away from stretching their lead at the Premiership summit to four points over Arsenal, disaster struck. This time it was a free-kick from Bruno N'Gotty that caused consternation in the home defence and when the ball broke free to Radhi Jaidi, the Bolton defender swept the ball home to level it.

But before Jaidi had the chance to pounce, Gudjohnsen should have put the game beyond their reach.

Now with Didier Drogba fit enough for a place on the bench either against Paris St Germain on Wednesday night or Charlton next weekend, Gudjohnsen has more reason than ever to build on his new found belief and he is ready for the challenge.

He added: "We will have another option then, an extra player up front to rely on. We need everyone fit as the season goes on. All the players in the forward positions have been playing really well and it will be a battle for places. Whenever the manager has wanted the most out of me, I have responded by giving my best."