Roberto Di Matteo insists the focus of his Chelsea team will be on beating Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
Fatigue is easier when you are winning, says Chelsea boss
Roberto Di Matteo insists the focus of his Chelsea team will be on beating Arsenal at Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
The Blues have had a spectacular week, defeating Tottenham 5-1 at Wembley on Sunday to reach the FA Cup final before winning their UEFA Champions League semi-final first-leg against Barcelona on Wednesday.
But with the games coming thick and fast, Di Matteo's thoughts are back on the Premier League.
"There is so little time to enjoy these wins," he said.
"The semi-final against Spurs was a great win, but there was no time to enjoy it, and this one in midweek the same.
"Because, after the game, you start thinking about Arsenal already."
Chelsea go into this London derby seven points behind the Gunners, although with a game in hand they know a win could soon see them move within a point of Arsene Wenger's team.
Catch-up
But Di Matteo, who took the reins at Chelsea last month, admits his team are facing an uphill task in the race for a top-four finish.
"Unfortunately, we have to play catch-up - that's been from day one," added the Italian.
"So, every game that we've played in the league is crucial, and this is another one."
Chelsea's hopes of victory have been boosted by the news Arsenal midfielder Mikel Arteta will miss the rest of the season.
Informed the Gunners had failed to win a league game without the Spaniard this term, Di Matteo said: "Good! But they have a good squad, they have a lot of good quality players. We're going to be missing some players."
That is sure to include Didier Drogba after his goalscoring exertions of the past week, with Fernando Torres set to come in as his replacement.
But Chelsea do have captain John Terry available as Di Matteo sought to play down the effects of the fixture congestion.
He added: "Psychologically, it feels much better digesting this amount of games when you're winning.
"That doesn't take away the fact that we're going to play our third game in less than six days.
"I've been using the squad and I will continue to do so, because I think that is the only answer, really, to be able to compete in every game."
