Michael Ballack has warned Chelsea's title rivals that the Blues have had their 'blip', and are all set to power on for the rest of the season.

This autumn was a torrid time at Stamford Bridge, with a series of dreadful results leading some to raise questions about Chelsea's potential under Luiz Felipe Scolari.

"You have this moment in a season," said Ballack, of the run that saw defeats against Liverpool, Arsenal and Roma in Italy. "But I hope we can go back to a series of wins.

"If you look at the next few games, you can see it is possible that we could win a few in a row now."

That run includes games against strugglers West Ham and West Brom, before the post-Christmas trip to Fulham at Craven Cottage.

"We know we have to improve. But we can do this I think - the team is good.

"We have some injuries at the moment, which is why we are not so dominant. We're maybe lacking a few parts on the park at home at the moment. But I'm not worried, honestly.

"It happens sometimes in the season that you have a little bit - not a down time - but a time when you don't look as good as you have before.

We have a little bit of a break from the Champions League now until February. We hope some players will be coming back, and we have more strength."

And Ballack predicted a happy Hogmanay for Chelsea and their fans: "We have a big target now - to be focussed on the league, and to go through Christmas and the New Year."