Petr Cech today insisted Chelsea coach Carlo Ancelotti is not cracking under pressure and is confident he will turn the club's season around.
Chelsea go into the busy festive period in fourth place after their match against title rivals Manchester United yesterday was postponed due to the snow.
Ancelotti is under strain after overseeing Chelsea's worst run of form for more than a decade which has seen them go six weeks without a victory in the Premier League.
Previous Chelsea managers have been sacked for less during the Roman Abramovich era but Cech claims a man of his experience is in no danger of losing his cool.
He said: "No one is happy about the current situation. We had a good gap ahead of other teams but lost it.
"Carlo has plenty of experience as he has gone through AC Milan and Juventus. He knows how things work in big clubs. He is not panicking."
Cech's team-mate Florent Malouda believes the championship will go down to the final day and feels Manchester City and Arsenal will also be in contention.
Manchester City can be top at Christmas Day for the first time in 81 years if they beat Everton tonight, while Arsenal, who Chelsea play at Emirates Stadium next Monday, are a point ahead of Ancelotti's side.
Malouda said: "It is an open race. We were on top for the first part of this season and now we have dropped so many points that now we are chasing United, Arsenal and Man City so I think it is going to be tight."
