Salomon Kalou has shrugged off fears over fatigue with Chelsea facing a hectic spell featuring two cup finals and three crucial Premier League fixtures.
Chelsea forward relishing hectic end to the season
Salomon Kalou has shrugged off fears over fatigue with Chelsea facing a hectic end to the season featuring two cup finals and three crucial Premier League fixtures.
The Blues will go head-to-head with Liverpool at Wembley on Saturday in the FA Cup final and have the UEFA Champions League showpiece against Bayern Munich to look forward to on 19th May.
The West London club remain embroiled in the tense battle for a top-four finish in the Premier League, with Wednesday night's vital encounter against Newcastle followed by further contests with the Reds and Blackburn.
Interim manager Roberto Di Matteo has overseen a sharp improvement in fortunes since replacing Andre Villas-Boas in early March and forward Kalou is confident the squad will continue to rise to the challenge over the final furlongs.
"When you have a chance to end the season like we do, it's easy to stay motivated," he told the club's
official website.
Blessed
"There are only a few games left to play and we know that these games are so important for the history of the club.
"Every player would love to be in this position. We can win the FA Cup, finish in the top four and potentially win the Champions League, which is something every player dreams about, so we are blessed.
"I just take it game by game. Right now, I'm focused on Newcastle. The FA Cup final on Saturday is another game and I will have time to think about that afterwards.
"Hopefully I can get some assists or score a few goals, work extremely hard for the team and show the manager that I'm ready."
Top level
Kalou's days at Stamford Bridge looked to be numbered as he slipped down the pecking order under Villas-Boas, but the Ivory Coast international has enjoyed much more frequent involvement since Di Matteo took charge.
"I'm playing regularly and I'm glad," he added. "Since I've come back from the African Cup of Nations, under Robbie [Di Matteo], I'm playing at least every other game so I'm very happy.
"I just hope I can help the team pick up the points we need between now and the end of the season and win some trophies.
"The way we were playing, we didn't start this season in the best way. We dropped a few points and everybody knew it was going to be difficult, but in the last couple of months we've fought hard and come back to our top level."
