Chelsea look to exact measure of revenge on Spurs

CHELSEA manager Luiz Felipe Scolari has revealed his players have a burning ambition to gain revenge for the result that wrecked last season.

The Brazilian gets his first taste of a London derby tomorrow when currently pointless Tottenham are the visitors to Stamford Bridge.

Juande Ramos’ side enjoyed a 2-1 Wembley success over Chelsea, then led by Avram Grant, to lift the Carling Cup last March.

But it was the 4-4 draw at White Hart Lane later in the same month, which saw two vital Barclays Premier League points dropped at a time when they were putting huge pressure on eventual champions Manchester United, that was being talked about on the training ground.

Scolari said: “They have talked to me about the 4-4 game, not the Carling Cup. One mistake in the last two minutes meant they lost the Premier League.

“They also told me they respected some of the Tottenham players and at this moment it is important for Tottenham not to lose another game.

“They want their first three points in the league so we have some problems, we know this. We need to respect them even more.”

The former Portugal boss enjoyed many a derby day success when he was starting his career in Brazil and revealed he had already had a briefing on maintaining local pride in London, although oddly title rivals Arsenal did not seem to feature.

He said: “If you win a derby it is fantastic. When I arrived here some people said to me ‘you need to win three derbies – Tottenham, Fulham and West Ham’.

“They said we didn’t need to win against the other teams but for me I need to win all the other games, against Wigan, Manchester City, everyone.”

Michael Ballack is likely to be missing from the Chelsea line-up, with fellow midfielders John Obi Mikel and Michael Essien also struggling. Striker Didier Drogba is also absent.

Scolari said: “In the last game one or two players played because they wanted to help Chelsea. But this time it is impossible for one player to play because he feels his foot more than before.

“I will need one or two players to switch position because my midfielders have injuries.”

While Chelsea will be looking to protect a 100% record following victories over Portsmouth and Wigan, Spurs are still smarting over setbacks at the hands of Middlesbrough and Sunderland.

Scolari said: “Tottenham thought they would have a better start to the season than they have done because they have lost both games.

“But I know Juande and the players at Tottenham. They made one or two mistakes in the games before ours but we need to remember this is a big chance for Tottenham because it is a derby.”