Drogba showing true colours

Under-fire Didier Drogba says his recent displays show what he is really capable of.

In recent weeks the Ivory Coast hit-man has been made a pariah due to his theatrical nature on the pitch, and Drogba courted controversy when he admitted to diving before retracting the statement.

The negative perception of the former Marseille man reached its nadir against Manchester City on March 25 when he was booed by his own fans after falling to the ground.

However, since that dark day Drogba has returned with a vengeance by contributing a number of impressive performances as Chelsea have moved ever closer to the Premiership title.

Against Everton on Bank Holiday Monday, Drogba scored his 12th goal of the Premiership season, and the £24 million man says he is now showing his true qualities whilst again denying he is a diver.

"Against Everton I feel that I not only scored but also showed to everybody what I'm really capable of doing," said Drogba.

"I am not a diver, maybe what happened against Manchester City was unfortunate for me, but that is the past.

"I think I have now showed the real Didier Drogba, especially in the last two home games."

In the last three games Blues boss Jose Mourinho has experimented with an unfamiliar system as Drogba has been partnered by Hernan Crespo in attack.

Chelsea' success under the guidance of the Portuguese tactician has previously been based on a 4-3-3 approach, but Drogba has welcomed the change - insisting he relishes having the Argentine striker alongside him.

"The new system with Crespo is very good for me," Drogba added.

"I am used to playing as one of two strikers because it was what I did in the whole of my career at Guingamp and Marseille before I came to Chelsea and it is better for me.

"I have a great understanding with Crespo, he is a great player and a great person too.

"The one thing that stands out is that he is very intelligent.

"I don't have to speak to him on the pitch, we both know what we want to do.

"He understands and smells football, that makes it very easy to play with him.

"But the team as a whole needs to adapt to this new system.

"Maybe it's more difficult for some players but the result against Everton, as well as what we did against West Ham and Bolton, shows what we can do like this."