Carlo: Forget top four if we play like this

SAMI MOKBEL at Stamford Bridge

CARLO ANCELOTTI told his Everton players to forget about the Champions League after a humiliation at Chelsea that served as a harsh reality check following signs of improvement. Ancelotti stopped short of questioning his team’s commitment after the defeat at his former club but made it clear he was unhappy with some players’ application. The Italian believes he can eventually lead Everton to Champions League football but yesterday’s performance should act as a reminder of how far Everton still have to go before they can break into the top four. When asked directly whether he was disappointed with his players’ commitment, Ancelotti replied: ‘There are things I can analyse with you, and things I analyse with my players. ‘Champions League is the future, that’s the target. We have to improve, of course. This club wants to be competitive in the Premier League and Europe. But with this kind of performance, we have to forget it.’ Ancelotti still believes his team can make a late run to qualify for next season’s Europa League. ‘We think we can compete, fight for Europe. We are still there,’ said the Italian. ‘Today we were not at the same level as Chelsea. But a week ago we were at the same level as Manchester United. You cannot judge a team on one week. At the end of the season we will see where we are. ‘Everything went wrong today. It’s not difficult to analyse this game. We were not good enough defensively. We were too open, not compact, lost a lot of duels, and with the ball we made a lot of mistakes. But we can learn from our mistakes. It’s the first time, the first game where we didn’t compete. Today was wrong from the beginning.’ Meanwhile, Chelsea manager Frank Lampard remained cautious in his side’s bid to secure Champions League football despite strengthening their hold on fourth place. Lampard said: ‘There’s still a long way in the top-four race. United are in great form. It may look a small cushion from fifth now, but we have to fight to the end. It’s in our hands. I’m not going to say we’re favourites now. It doesn’t feel to me like we’re favourites.’