IT IS just two weeks since Sir Alex Ferguson ruled Chelsea out of the title race and his words could now be coming back to haunt him. The Manchester United manager declared that Chelsea had "played into our hands" after sacking Luiz Felipe Scolari and yet they are now just four points behind after another professional display at Portsmouth.

United obviously have two games in hand, one of which is at Newcastle tonight, in which to extend their lead once more, but winning the championship might not be the stroll Ferguson expected.

The Scot may have been speaking in support of a fellow manager when Scolari was given his marching orders after just seven months in charge, yet only now is it becoming apparent the damage the Brazilian was doing to the Chelsea dressing room.

Guus Hiddink has changed little regarding the team's tactics but the players are performing with renewed vigour under his guidance and United must now be grateful that Chelsea hadn't brought the Dutchman in any sooner.

The victory at Fratton Park was a throwback to the team that won successive titles under Jose Mourinho in 2005 and 2006 - no wonder the fans left the ground chanting "Chelsea are back". For the conditions couldn't have been harder - the rain was incessant and the home side had raised their game due to the arrival of tougher opposition.

But the key men who had made Chelsea's title triumphs all possible were once again to the fore, from a rejuvenated Petr Cech making superb saves, to Didier Drogba scoring a crucial goal. For a man who continues to insist he will only stay in charge for the rest of the season, Hiddink has rapidly grown full of admiration for the squad.

He said: "What is good in this team, is that they react when there are difficulties. Many players react in a way I normally don't like but this team is not happy when things are not going well and they make an extra effort.

"I notice there is a desire to have success and we have some key players who are demanding a lot from themselves and also from the other ones, which is key for big players.

"They challenge each other and it is very open. It shows the team is not fed up and has desire. In difficult circumstances we are satisfied with a win and we had to win to put pressure on the number one team in the League."

Under Scolari, Chelsea would have lost this game because Portsmouth played in a manner which belied their position just above the relegation zone. While Chelsea had their moments, the home side had most of the chances only to find Cech standing in their way.

Hiddink told Standard Sport yesterday that he believed Cech was still one of the best keepers in the world and his faith was rewarded.For the 25-year-old produced one of the saves of the season to deny Sean Davis in the 28th minute to tip the midfielder's fierce drive from 25 yards over the bar with his right hand.

He also denied David Nugent superbly in the second half after he had been put clean through by Peter Crouch's clever flick on.

For all their possession, Chelsea had struggled to create anything of note and were not helped by being without top scorer Nicolas Anelka, who was ruled out with a bruised toe. Drogba was struggling against Sol Campbell and Sylvain Distin, while Michael Ballack again disappointed.

Portsmouth keeper David James did make some fine stops from shots outside the box by Frank Lampard and Alex in the first half but it took the introduction of winger Ricardo Quaresma to finally give Chelsea a cutting edge.

He has had a limited chance to impress since joining on loan from Inter Milan in January, however, he did so here to such an extent that he may soon push for a place in the staring line-up.

The Portuguese international sent in some dangerous crosses and ran at the Portsmouth defence with purpose after coming on for Salomon Kalou. One cross was headed just over by Drogba, but in the 79th minute the Ivory Coast international made no mistake.

Quaresma's dangerous ball found Drogba unmarked at the back post and he steered his shot emphatically into the bottom corner.

It was his second goal in a week and Hiddink added: "He is enjoying his football and enjoying his training. He had a slight chance and he took it. It gets rid of a bit of tension.

"When a player is playing in that position and not scoring, then it comes to such an emotional explosion. Strikers live to score."

As far as Cech (left, with Drogba) is concerned the win has set Chelsea up perfectly for big cup matches against Coventry and Juventus in the next seven days.

He said: "We know if we beat Coventry on Saturday we are in the FA Cup semi-finals. Then we play Juventus and after losing in the Champions League Final last year we want to get back to the final and win this time."