ROBERTO Di Matteo admits Chelsea have given themselves a mountain to climb in the battle for fourth spot after they slipped to defeat against Newcastle.

A Papiss Cisse double condemned them to a 2-0 defeat at Stamford Bridge to leave them four points off the pace with just two games remaining.

However, Blues interim boss Di Matteo insists the Champions League finalists won't throw in the towel as the season reaches its climax.

He said:"It's going to be difficult now for us to reach fourth spot.

"We'll keep pushing though until it's impossible. We won't give up."

Newcastle boosted their own hopes of a top-four finish with victory in SW6, and Di Matteo conceded the Magpies were good value for the points.

"We have to give credit to Newcastle,” added the Italian. “They did well and played a very good game against us.

"They have a player in their team at the moment that, whatever he touches, it goes in.

"But my players have given everything. We've been asking them to push and push and push and they've done well.”

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