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MALOUDA EYES PIRES PATH TO GLORY

Malouda - hopes to win trophies.

Chelsea's Florent Malouda wants to follow in the footsteps of French compatriot Robert Pires by hitting the trophy trail after overcoming a difficult first season in England.

Pires took time to settle at Arsenal but then picked up two Premier League titles, and winger Malouda has also taken a year to get into his stride.

Jose Mourinho's departure from Chelsea and injuries denied the 28-year-old a consistent run last season but he is now a fixture in Luiz Felipe Scolari's team and has started the last six matches.

The comparison with Pires is something the former Lyon player welcomes.

"Maybe it is like that," he said. "I hope like Robert Pires that we win a lot of titles.

"I prepared really hard for this season. Last season, sometimes I was playing, sometimes I was not. I had my first bad year. I knew when I came to England that the first year would be difficult.

"When the new coach arrived he told me he wanted to help me get back to my best level. That is what you are seeing now. I hope the best is to come."

Malouda insists that leaving Stamford Bridge never crossed his mind over the summer.

"Last season was weird because I started well, there were changes in the team and I was injured in November and December," he said.

"I came back, played a lot and then didn't play. But I never thought about leaving because I came here and signed a four-year deal.

"I came here to stay and try to reach level where I'm in the team and have an importance in the team.

"I worked hard for this. I'm really happy in Chelsea and have the confidence of the lads, the board and everybody."

Malouda appears to have the trust of Scolari, playing on the left wing and supporting a lone striker in Nicolas Anelka or Didier Drogba when the Ivory Coast international returns from injury.

Scolari, in turn, has instilled a belief in players such as Malouda and Anelka, who have been billed as characters who need man-management.

"He knew me before he came to Chelsea," Malouda said. "He tried to use my qualities, to go back to simple things. With this work every day in training, the confidence has gone up.

"With confidence you can try things and be free in your mind. He wants me to be free in my mind because when you change to a new country you have to clear your mind to express yourself on the pitch. That is why most of the foreign players, when they come here, it is difficult.

"I'm really enjoying myself on the pitch. We have the results and we are doing our best to please the fans. We had the result but looked at Liverpool's win - we know this season it will be really difficult."

The convincing win over Aston Villa on Sunday kept Chelsea top of the table, with the international break giving players time to recover from injury.

"We said that it was the last game before the internationals so we had to give everything and our commitment to this title race," said Malouda.

Deco and Alex could be back after the international break, while Drogba and Ricardo Carvalho will be further down the road on their comebacks.

Joe Cole sustained a foot injury against Villa, ruling him out of England duty, but it is considered a short-term problem.

"We believe that it will not be a serious injury and that he will recover over the international break," said goalkeeper Petr Cech.

Cech was also impressed with Branislav Ivanovic, who made his league debut, in the absence of Carvalho and Alex.

"People have been talking since he joined the club about what sort of player he is to have been here for such a long time and not played yet," Cech said.

"But he had a great game against Portsmouth in the Carling Cup, for me it was the best performance on that day, and this time he played as our inside defender and you can see the quality he has.

"So he has had to wait for his chance but he deserved that chance."