Drogba and Essien set to be benched?

Drogba and Essien

Carlo Ancelotti has hinted that Didier Drogba could be dropped from his starting XI as he plots a way back into the Premier League's top four.

Chelsea face Blackburn at Stamford Bridge on Saturday night desperate for a win and Ancelotti revealed he would consider leaving out some of his experienced players to give impressive youngsters Josh McEachran and Daniel Sturridge the chance to turn the champions' flagging season around.

It is hard to remember a time when a fit Drogba would not have been one of the first players on the Chelsea teamsheet but he has failed to hit top form after recovering from a bout of malaria earlier in the campaign. Midfielder Michael Essien is also in the firing line, with Ancelotti refusing to defend the pair when asked whether they could lose their places in the team.

He said: "Yes, why not? My job is to choose the best team to play the game. Maybe sometimes there are some players who are not in the best condition to play. This does not mean they are not important. I had fantastic players in the past at Milan and they did not play every game."

Ancelotti said it was the form of 17-year-old McEachran and 21-year-old Sturridge in recent matches - particularly in Chelsea's 7-0 thrashing of Ipswich in the FA Cup a week ago - that had given him a selection headache, rather than a desire to drop certain players.

"I have doubts about the selection, up front and also in midfield. The performances of Sturridge and McEachran are the reason I have doubts. I want to take the right decision. There were very important performances against Ipswich, so I have to take them into consideration."

Ancelotti said he had not given up hope of retaining the Premier League, suggesting it could take as few as 80 points to win the title this season. While retaining the title could be beyond them, it is unthinkable Chelsea will fail to qualify for the Champions League next season. Yet, the same could be said for Liverpool last term when they finished seventh. Then-manager Rafael Benitez promised a top-four finish just over a year ago and ended up with egg on his face and ultimately lost his job. Ancelotti was not about to fall into the same trap.

"I don't like to promise because I have to stick with that promise,'' he said. "I don't want to bet because I don't like to bet, but we have the possibility to stay in the top four.''

With Luiz Felipe Scolari sacked just under two years ago when owner Roman Abramovich began to fear Chelsea would not qualify for the Champions League, Ancelotti knows his double win last season will count for little if he fails to finish in the top four.

"It would not be good to be out of the Champions League,'' he said. "For us, one of the most important things is to stay in the first four places in the table. I don't want to speak about financial reasons, but about the motivation of the players, the club, the manager. We have to play the Champions League.''

Ancelotti spoke over the telephone this week to Abramovich, who is obsessed with winning Europe's premier club competition.

"We didn't speak about that,'' he added. "We're not considering being out of the top four. I don't think it's impossible - we have to pay attention - but we didn't speak about it.''