I'm not 'moaning' but in the 7 wins out of the 8, the majority have been home bankers for any decent team. Marseille was the only match on paper that was tough - and that was a smart performance and result. The other one was the spuds and we lost. Merely earning a drawing at Stamford Bridge will convince me a lot more than beating Stoke or Sunderland or whatever other pub team we've narrowly beat at home. Of course it's no disgrace to lose...but progress is all about doing more than what you're expected to do. This Chelsea game will tell us far more than any of the previous 8 about whether we are really better than we were at the start of the season. If we put up a decent fight and are seen to be competing in every 50/50 and not looking out of our depth, it'll be a start.

That said, at the start of this season we had an awful run of tough fixtures. Blackburn away and Liverpool home have probably been our only bad results. I think we look a bit better and crisper with our passing recently (which is paramount to us doing well)...but yeah - this Chelsea game is massive. If Chelsea beat us comfortably, any confidence built up from edging past Sunderland or Bolton will be gone. Everyone knows we can beat Sunderland and Bolton at home.