Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic has reiterated the importance of his side showing a ruthless streak for the remainder of the season in order to storm their way to the Premier League title.

The Blues remain five points clear of Manchester City at the summit courtesy of last night's hard-fought 1-0 win against West Ham United, with a game in hand still to play over their rivals.

However, champions City have pegged Jose Mourinho's men back once already this campaign, making up an eight-point deficit following a strong run of form, although Ivanovic says that Chelsea have now learned lessons from the past.

"It's for us to keep the big gap and not give them the chance to close it again," The Mirror quotes him as saying. "We are one step closer, but still it's a long way.

"We are growing as a team and we learn from our mistakes. That's how we know how every game and every situation is very important. This team is slowly growing together and giving good performances, even when we have a bad day we get some points and win some games."

Chelsea are back in league action in 10 days' time when they take on European-chasing Southampton, but before then they must tackle Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.