Frank Lampard insists Chelsea's players aren't worried about failing to qualify for the Champions League this season and remain confident they can still win the League.

The Blues have played in Europe's premier club competition every season since 2003-4, but their place in the top four is severely under threat.

Chelsea take on Stoke at home tomorrow after winning just two of their last eight games.

They are only one point above Aston Villa, while Arsenal, who are a further three points back, are also closing the gap in fifth.

Lampard admitted the defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford was hard to take, but said: "We're not looking over our shoulders at all and I'm looking for us still to be title contenders. I don't think we have to go unbeaten for the rest of the season to win it.

"The fact is United was a bad result, but you can always go there and lose because they are a top team. It was a below-par performance. If we'd gained maximum points like we should have done against Fulham away, as well as Newcastle and West Ham at home, we'd have been a few points clear.

"The days after we lost to United were hard, but life goes on. There's no point sulking about it.

"Everyone wants to talk about Chelsea when we have a bad patch and now it's about going out and playing. We need to look forward and go on a winning run in the League."

Their hopes have suffered a blow, with Joe Cole set to be ruled out for some time with the knee injury he sustained at Southend on Wednesday.

The England international will have another scan on the problem today after initials tests proved inconclusive.

There are genuine fears he has sustained ligament damage and could be out for at least two months.

Florent Malouda has recovered from a hamstring strain to take Cole's place in the squad, but Chelsea will still hope his injury is not as bad as feared.

Lampard is now looking for striker Didier Drogba to be welcomed back into the fold by manager Luiz Felipe Scolari and paired with Nicolas Anelka up front for the rest of the season.

Drogba was dropped from the squad in midweek after Scolari was left furious by his display against United.

The Brazilian is not convinced the two strikers can play together or that he has the players in the squad to play 4-4-2 on a regular basis, but Lampard added: "I don't know how many times they have played together. Didier was injured for a long time and then when he came back people expect it to work instantly.

"I've had it in my time, with partnerships in my career with Steven Gerrard in the England team and with Michael Ballack at Chelsea.

"I know many teams won't want to play against Anelka and Drogba when they're firing. They are two top players and you want them both around."

Stoke are planning to further exploit Chelsea's poor record of defending set pieces at Stamford Bridge tomorrow.

Chelsea have conceded six goals in their last four games from dead ball situations, including one against Southend where they switched to a zonal system from man-to-man marking.

Stoke midfielder Liam Lawrence said: "They seem to be a bit weak on set-pieces at the moment. I saw the game against Southend and we will work on set-pieces. We will keep putting it in the box and testing them."