Ancelotti plays down Ipswich thrashing

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti said he would not get carried away despite his side’s 7-0 thumping of Ipswich in the FA Cup on Sunday.

At Stamford Bridge the Blues booked their progress into the fourth round with a convincing display, thanks to doubles from England duo Daniel Sturridge and Frank Lampard.

The win was a welcome lift for Ancelotti’s side, who had won just two of their past 11 matches in all competitions heading into the clash, but the Italian boss was remaining level-headed after the game.

“I think that we need to have this kind of performance and the result was good. We have a lot of things that we did well in this game,” he said.

“It was a good performance from the team, a lot of the strikers came back to score goals like (Nicolas) Anelka and Lampard.”

“But obviously we don’t have to be too excited because we have to give the same performance next week against Blackpool.”

Ancelotti admitted his team were a bit tentative in the opening stages but is hoping the win can kick-start the second half of the season.

“Obviously, with this victory, our confidence will improve and we can prepare well for the game. I think we have to wait to say everything is ok. We have some things that we need to do better but it was important to play good football today,” he said.

“To explain the bad moment we are in, there were differences between the first 30 minutes and the last 60.”

“In the first 30 minutes they were a little bit worried and there was less confidence in their play. When we scored the first goal, everything was ok. But we have to play other games to say that the bad moment is gone.”

Ancelotti’s name was sung loudly and proudly by the Chelsea faithful during the game and afterwards the manager said he was ‘happy’ with the club’s ‘fantastic support’.

Ipswich caretaker manager Charlie McParland said he was ‘hurting’ after the demoralising loss.

McParland said the club must lift for Wednesday night’s Carling Cup encounter against Arsenal and admitted he hoped a new man would be in charge by then.

“We did okay for half an hour and then we switched off and when you play against teams of this calibre, they punish you,” McParland said.

“The players are hurting, I’m hurting but we have to lift ourselves, the players have to lift themselves for Wednesday night.”

“It’s a difficult time when a manager leaves a club and you are waiting for a new man to come in but the club has to move forward – hopefully the new man will be in before Wednesday.”