Carlo Ancelotti knows there is still room for improvement following Chelsea’s fluke winner from Didier Drogba.

Chelsea had trailed to Stephen Hunt’s 27th-minute opener before Drogba levelled 10 minutes later with a 25-yard free-kick.

But, after the Blues had squandered numerous second-half chances, Drogba’s attempted cross in the second minute of added time somehow dropped over the head Boaz Myhill for the winner.

“For sure we have to improve because we didn’t always play well in this match,” said Ancelotti.

“We made some mistakes. But this is normal after one month.

“We have to improve our play and continuity in matches. This game was very difficult because we went behind.

“But we didn’t lose the idea to play and at the end we deserved to win.

“It is good for the team to believe all the time that they could score.

“This is football, a nice part of football. It is important for us to believe.”

Ancelotti had to be thankful for another outstanding display from Drogba.

The Ivory Coast striker recently signed a new contract extension and looked back to his best compared with the dark days he endured under former boss Luiz Felipe Scolari.

“I think last season he had a problem with his body and now he is well,” added Ancelotti.

“He is important for us and I am very happy he scored two goals. He has a lot of motivation now.”

Chelsea looked tired as the second half wore on but Ancelotti would not criticise England coach Fabio Capello for using Ashley Cole, Frank Lampard and John Terry for the full 90 minutes against Holland in midweek.

“We have to consider that a lot players played 90 minutes with their national team and did not rest totally,” said Ancelotti.

“I didn’t speak with Capello. I want, if it is possible, to help his work and give England players in good condition. I am not coach of England, they have a very good coach.

“Ashley, John and Frank are in very good condition, it was no problem for them to play 90 minutes.”

John Terry is believed to have approached Roman Abramovich, asking the Chelsea owner for permission to have talks with Man City.

Club insiders claim that Terry was asked by the club board last week to hand in a transfer request before they let him speak to anyone from Eastlands, but that does not seem to be the case anymore.

Abramovich wants to hold on to his club captain, but with Chelsea leaving for a pre-season tour of the US later this week, a deadline has been set for a decision, one that may see Terry move north.

City are reportedly set to table a £50m offer for the England defender, with Terry said to be paid £280,000 in weekly wages, as well as a £5m signing-on fee.

Any talks with Terry will hinge on City boss Mark Hughes who is due to fly back from City’s pre-season boot camp in Germany in an attempt to convince the Blues skipper that Eastlands is the place to be in the upcoming season.

Andriy Shevchenko wants to honour his contract with Chelsea and will report for pre-season training with the Blues.

The Ukraine forward, who spent last season on loan at AC Milan, has one year left on his contract with the Barclays Premier League outfit - and intends to see it out.

“On July 9 I will join Chelsea in pre-season training,” said Shevchenko to Corriere dello Sport.

“Then we will see what happens.”

The 32-year-old hopes the arrival of former Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti at Chelsea will allow him to prove his worth at Stamford Bridge.

“I have spoken to the coach who has given me an appointment for pre-season training,” he said.

“I have one year left on my contract with Chelsea and I intend to respect it and honour it in the best possible way.”

Shevchenko’s second spell at Milan proved unsuccessful with the striker scoring twice in nine starts for the Rossoneri last term.

Serie A club Roma are reportedly keen to acquire Shevchenko’s services but the player insists his priority is to stay at Chelsea.

“If there was a concrete offer then I would evaluate it together with Chelsea,” said Shevchenko.

“If it will not be possible to continue my career at Chelsea then I will look at other options.

“I consider (Roma coach Luciano) Spalletti a great coach, serious and prepared.

“He is able to bring out the best of his players.

“When I met him there was a good feeling between us.”

Frank Lampard wants to emulate Chelsea legend Gianfranco Zola and play on till his 30s.

Speaking to The Sun, “I have been lucky, I have stayed away from injuries. I’ve got an aim to keep getting better and better as a player and keep my levels as high as I want them to be.

“I think I’ve just had my best ever season but I don’t know when the peak will be. I hope it is still to come. I hope the peak will be over the following years.”

The England midfielder who has had one of his best seasons yet knows just who he should model himself after.

“I see good professionals like Gianfranco Zola have fantastic seasons aged 36-37. That is where I want to be.

“I want to carry on as long as he did. No one can guess the future too much and we are always liable to form and injuries and your legs packing up when you don’t expect them to go.

“But the way I feel now, the way I want to lead my life and train and play, I see myself playing for quite a long time, to the stage Gianfranco did.

“And, when I get to that stage, I want to be involved in helping younger players in the team and be a big part of the future.”

If Lampard manages another 20-goal haul in the 2009/2010 season, he may finally gain the recognition he truly deserves.

Chelsea have moved to set up talks between Kaka and Roman Abramovich to try to prise the Brazilian out of Real Madrid’s hands.

The Blues know that Kaka would prefer a move to the Bernabeu but could just outbid Real with a £56m bid this week.

Despite reports that the Brazilian midfielder is close to a move to Real Madrid, Kaka is still at the top of the list of names that Chelsea are keen to sign this offseason and Abramovich has his cheque book on standby to enter a bidding war with Los Blancos if necessary.

Although Kaka has often reiterated his desire to stay, the signs from Milan - namely his representatives and father Bosco Leite - point to Kaka moving and bids are now being considered by AC Milan.

The midfield maestro would be receiving a pay packet of around £150,000 a week, which would set a new standard in the Stamford Bridge wage structure.

Chelsea’s Russian owner Abramovich and club director Eugene Tenenbaum are confident that club stars John Terry and Frank Lampard will welcome the deal. Both players are the top earners at the club at £135,000 a week but any move to restructure their deals with the acquisition of Kaka would not be allowed.

Chelsea have re-signed Michael Ballack for another year, though he’s had to take a pay cut from the £131,000 that he’s been getting when he arrived from Bayern Munich in 2006.

The Germany captain was then blessed with the benefit of arriving on a free transfer and was given a big signing-on fee along with his weekly pay. The 32-year-old said: “I am very happy to be staying at Chelsea for one more year.”

Chelsea have announced the appointment of Carlo Ancelotti as their new manager. He will take over from Guus Hiddink.

The Italian has signed a three-year contract to succeed Guus Hiddink, whose short stint in charge ended after Saturday’s FA Cup final victory over Everton.

Ancelotti left AC Milan yesterday after eight years at the San Siro, during which time he won two Champions League titles, the Serie A title, the Italian Cup and the Club World Cup.

The 49-year-old was also a successful player with both Roma and Milan, winning a total of two European Cups and three league titles.

A Chelsea statement read: “Carlo was the outstanding candidate for the job. He has proved over a long period his ability to build teams that challenged for, and have been successful in, major domestic and European competitions.

“He also had a highly successful playing career in those competitions and therefore brings unparalleled all round experience to the job.

“We are sure everybody at Chelsea will give him a warm welcome and we are all looking forward to working with him.”

Ancelotti takes charge on July 1 and will become Chelsea’s fifth manager in less than two years following Jose Mourinho, Avram Grant, Luiz Felipe Scolari and Hiddink.

Ancelotti told Chelsea TV: “Milan for me was a great experience. For five years I played with a great team - we had a lot of success - and eight years to train a great team.

“Now I think it is time to change and Chelsea for me was a great opportunity, a great team.

“Now I think it is the right moment for a new challenge and I want to put all my energy for Chelsea.”

Ancelotti will be charged with replicating his past European successes at Chelsea while also re-establishing the club on top of the Barclays Premier League.

The Champions League title is the only trophy Chelsea have not won since Roman Abramovich took over at Stamford Bridge.

“There will be the same pressure because Chelsea are a great team in Europe,” Ancelotti added. “They want to win all the competitions.

“For me the Champions League is a beautiful sensation. When I played I won it two times, it was a fantastic moment and the same thing when I was a coach in Milan.

“The Champions League for me is the best competition in the world.”

But there are question marks over Ancelotti, not least over his lack of English, given the problems that appeared to bring when Scolari was in charge.

And while Ancelotti delivered success for Milan on the European stage he did only manage one league title in eight seasons.

This year, Milan finished 10 points off the pace as Mourinho guided Inter to the Serie A title.

Ancelotti said: “For me (English) is not easy but I want to learn and I want to improve.

“I have the time and when we start the season I will speak well. It is important for me to speak with the players, the team, the assistant and all the operators that will work with me.”

Hiddink, the Russia national coach who was hired on a temporary basis after Scolari’s departure in February, has urged the Chelsea hierarchy to allow the new man time.

“This club needs the next manager to stay for a long while,” Hiddink said before Ancelotti’s appointment. “He needs to have a foundation.”

Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho claims he has been told by friends at Stamford Bridge that Carlo Ancelotti will be in charge next season.

Speculation has been rife in Italy and England that Ancelotti will leave AC Milan for Chelsea in the summer, with the Rossoneri possibly set to make an announcement on his future on Monday.

Mourinho, currently in charge of bitter rivals Inter Milan, believes his Rossoneri counterpart will take over at the Blues.

“My friends at Chelsea tell me it will be Carlo,” he told Sky Italia.]

“Some players are asking me the typical question: ‘Gaffer, will he be good for us, do you think it will be positive?’

“I responded that he seems to me to be a very well prepared coach, very close to his players who can create an atmosphere of great empathy with his players and if he adapts well to Chelsea, he has a group of players who are waiting for a good coach in order to win because it is a squad that wants to win.”

Mourinho, who left Chelsea in 2007 after three years at the helm, believes Ancelotti should jump at the chance.

He added: “If Carlo goes or not it is his problem and if he goes to Chelsea, I will wish him all the best.

“And if he asks my opinion, I will tell him that with these players and with this club, he should not think too much because it is a great adventure for him.”

Frank Lampard has had time to reflect on the season, and says that everything has gone well for him in the current campaign.

Lampard even claims that this may well be his best season as a football professional yet.

“I think this has been my best season - I feel maybe from experience, a bit more aware of things. My assists this year have been higher and I’ve been more aware of how and when to put people in,” he told Chelsea, the club’s official magazine. “That’s something I think you can learn with age and it’s why a lot of players who think about the game experience better years during their thirties because they’re wanting to improve all the time.”

“I’m now always looking instantly for that pass and playing with Didier [Drogba] and [Nicolas] Anelka, you know they’re always waiting for that ball in behind so there’s no point in waiting around or wasting any time delivering it.”

“I watch football and I think sometimes people miss the early ball when there’s a bit of space for someone else so I always look to do that when I’m playing.”

This is the fifth straight season that Lampard has bagged more than 20 goals, an excellent gauge for one of the top midfielders in the Premier League.

“I think you have to be very consistent because at the top level there’s no room to be inconsistent,” he explained.

“It’s demanded by the clubs and you have to work hard at your game day in, day out in training to keep your fitness levels up and your mind right. You have to be a team player and as a midfielder you have to see the potential passes from deep and also be able to get up there and be around the opposition box - that’s what the best ones do.”

“And as an all-round midfielder these days you don’t just have to pass and contribute but you have to score goals, I think.”

Lampard has picked his father, Frank sr., as the man that has been his biggest role model.

“My dad saw the game changing, becoming faster, even when he was playing, but more so when he’d finished,” the Chelsea man explained. “I think he saw a little bit of a lack of speed in me as a kid so he worked hard on my speed and all-round agility, which helped because it gave me a mentality to work on those things throughout my career.”

“But also it gave me a bit of extra sharpness at that time, whch I think I’ve improved as I’ve got older. It definitely made me play with a bit more maturity.”