Chelsea form give Cech hope for title

Petr Cech has warned that Chelsea are back in the form which saw them explode out of the blocks this season and are ready for a sprint finish that could see them snatch the Barclays Premier League title.

The champions face West Ham tomorrow evening hoping to pounce on another slip-up by Manchester United, who host Everton in the lunchtime kick-off.

Wednesday night saw Chelsea take advantage of United's failure to win at Newcastle 24 hours earlier by beating Birmingham 3-1 and moving to within six points of the leaders.

The win gave the Blues a glimmer of hope of retaining their crown, something they can realistically only do if they win their remaining five games.

Having taken 19 points from a possible 21 and looking clinical again in front of goal, such a run does not look impossible.

It is a far cry from the mid-season slump which saw Carlo Ancelotti's side embark on their worst run in the league for almost 15 years.

Goalkeeper Cech said: "It now seems like the beginning of the season again - when we get chances, we convert them.

"It's important when you score goals because everything becomes easier.

"We got three against West Brom and another three again.

"This is the way to win games because nobody seems to want to win the title and everybody is dropping points, so goal difference will play a big part now.

"Everything is close and we could end up with the same number of points, so now it is important to score goals."

Only a week ago, Chelsea's season looked over.

Dumped out of the Champions League by United and 11 points adrift in the Premier League, they were on course for their worst campaign since Roman Abramovich bought the club.

Manager Ancelotti appeared all but resigned to losing his job, but suddenly the Italian has managed to haul his side above Arsenal into second spot and back into the title race.

Cech said: "You can see how everything can go fast this season.

"Two weeks ago, the situation looked one way, last week another way.

"A few days on, everything looks different again.

"We are back in second spot and we are only six points behind Manchester United.

"We have another two games at home, which will be massive for us.

"We need to keep winning to maintain the pressure on everybody.

"Arsenal have difficult games and obviously United have to play us and Arsenal so there could possibly be six points (dropped by them).

"Let's see if we can take advantage.

"We play West Ham and a big game against Spurs. If we win both, the situation could change again."