Hasselbaink set to battle for Chelsea future

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink vowed to battle for his Chelsea future as he insisted he was not afraid of the ever-increasing competition for places at Stamford Bridge.

Hasselbaink was left on the bench during Chelsea’s 2-0 victory in the first leg of their Champions League final qualifying round tie against MSK Zilina in Slovakia.

Finland international Mikael Forssell was instead preferred alongside Eidur Gudjohnsen, who scored Chelsea’s opener and then pressurised defender Michal Drahno into a late own goal.

That only increased speculation that Chelsea were keen to ensure Hasselbaink, who has been linked with a possible move to Real Betis, remains eligible for other clubs in Europe this season.

However, he made it clear that he will not give up without a fight, even though Romanian striker Adrian Mutu is set to make the competition for places even fiercer by completing his move to Stamford Bridge.

“I know that Mutu is a great player and we have got five really good strikers now. Every one of them could easily play in any Premiership team but I am not afraid of the competition,” he said.