Gary
Cahill believes the mistakes of last season have made Chelsea more
“ruthless” in their pursuit of Premier League glory this campaign.
The Blues finished third in Jose Mourinho’s first season back at Stamford
Bridge, but have led the table since the end of August this time round and
currently sit seven points clear with a game in hand on all their rivals.
And Chelsea's efficient streak certainly showed through last Sunday, when
they overcame QPR 1-0 at Loftus Road thanks to a late Cesc Fabregas strike –
with Cahill telling Soccer Saturday it was the type of result that has fired
Chelsea to the top.
“I think we’re more ruthless,” he said. “We’ve learned a lot from last
season when he dropped a good few points in games against teams we should
have been beating.
"I think that stuck in our heads when we go to tough places now, like at
QPR. We were at different ends of the table but the game was even and tight
until the end.”
He added: “There’s so much competition (in the Premier League) so we should
be proud to have achieved what we’ve done since the start of the season.
“But the crunch comes now. The hard work is still to be done and we don’t
want to throw that away.”
Cahill has largely been a mainstay of Chelsea’s defence since he signed from
Bolton in January 2012, winning the FA Cup and Champions League in his first
season and the Europa League the following year.
But the emergence of Kurt Zouma this season has seen his place come under
threat on occasion, although the 29-year-old England international is
confident he will retain his place - and is expected to start against
Manchester United at Stamford Bridge on Saturday evening.
“You have to keep going and battling to try and keep hold of the shirt,”
said Cahill. “I feel as though the period of time I’ve been at Chelsea has
been a great success.
“Personally I’ve played the majority of games and managed to get a few
trophies along the way, which I’m really pleased about.
“But I want to keep progressing season after season. What I’ve already won
at Chelsea is fantastic, but we know winning cups is different to the
league.
“With the Premier League you come in day to day and work hard the whole
season keeping fit and doing everything you possible can do.
"So in terms of that the reward at the end is massive.”
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