Ranieri wants players to bounce back

CLAUDIO RANIERI has challenged his Chelsea players to prove that they have what it takes to bounce back from last week's double defeat at the hands of Arsenal.

Ranieri's men have the chance to show their mettle when they resume European action in the last 16 of the Champions League tonight, and the Blues' coach wants his players to show they were not adversely affected by the pain inflicted upon them by Arsene Wenger's Arsenal.

"We have arrived in good condition and we are confident," said Ranieri as he touched down in snow-sprinkled Stuttgart. "The Arsenal defeats have not affected us but it is important for us to show that rather than to just say it." New chief executive Peter Kenyon said recently that after spending £120m of owner Roman Abramovich's money, the least that could be expected was for Ranieri to deliver a trophy, so the defeats by Arsenal raised fresh speculation about the Italian's future.