Returning Chelsea captain John Terry has warned Manchester United that the Premiership title race is well and truly on.
Whilst The Blues have struggled somewhat without their talismanic defender, they remain within six points of Sir Alex Ferguson's Red Devils and can cut that lead in half with a victory over Charlton on Saturday.
Terry's return after seven weeks out with a back problem has given Jose Mourinho's squad an injection of self belief, and the England skipper has warned his Old Trafford adversaries that Chelsea are determined to push them all the way.
"We've got to make up six points on Manchester United in 13 games - seven really to go ahead," said Terry.
"What that means is that we've just got to go on winning games because we can't really afford to lose points.
"If we do go on winning games, they can't afford to lose points. The race is on."
Even if the Premiership eludes them for the first time under Jose Mourinho, Chelsea are still involved in all three cup competitions and Terry is not ruling out a clean sweep of silverware in the coming months.
"We're in the final of the Carling Cup [against Arsenal]. We entered the competition to win it and that's still what we intend to do," Terry added.
"So we want to win it and then we want to win more. We're in the fifth round of the FA Cup and we've been drawn at home against lower-league opposition [Blackpool or Norwich].
"The Champions League returns this month and although Porto maybe a better team than when we played them two years ago, we are the group winners and they are the runners-up and we have enough quality and commitment in our squad to win the round.
"So this is the way it is. We believe that we can continue to compete in all four competitions."