Carlo Ancelotti insists he is not feeling the pressure as he looks to build on his roaring first season success at Stamford Bridge.

The Italian's double dream compensated the Blues for going out of the Champions League to his arch-rival Jose Mourinho's Inter Milan. Ancelotti's arrival saw Chelsea get off to a flying start in the league as the Italian introduced his famed 'Christmas tree' formation.

But it soon became apparent that all was not well off the field as captain John Terry and left-back Ashley Cole both struggled to cope with private issues. Terry's alleged affair with Wayne Bridge's former girlfriend Vanessa Perroncel led to him being stripped of the England captaincy by Fabio Capello.

But at Stamford Bridge Ancelotti stood by Terry and Cole, and the pair rewarded him with some fine performances as Chelsea marched towards the domestic double.

However, Ancelotti had to drop his favoured formation when it became clear that the rest of the Premier League had quickly learned to counter it.

"After 10 to 15 games, the opponents knew how to play against the 'Christmas tree' and so the space in the middle of the pitch was very closed," said Ancelotti.

"So from that moment we started to use wingers instead.

"We had the possibility to change a lot of players into different positions on the pitch so we turned this to our advantage."

The change in formation allowed certain players to flourish. One of those to shine was Frenchman Nicolas Anelka, who along with Didier Drogba fired Chelsea to the double.

"A surprise for me was Anelka in the role he played from the beginning until we changed the system in January," added Ancelotti.

"He did very well alongside Drogba, when he did a different role, not just as a striker, and then he also did a good job as a striker when Didier was at the African Nations Cup.

"Also Florent Malouda was a surprise for me because after starting well he played with continuity in different positions - he played very well for the whole season.

"For both players it was their versatility above all that surprised me, that they could perform different positions for the team."

But Chelsea's hopes of winning any silverware looked extremely distant when they were dumped out of the Champions League by Inter Milan and then drew 1-1 with Blackburn in the league.

The draw left them four points behind Manchester United and two behind Arsenal with a game in hand.

But Chelsea rallied following an "open and honest" team meeting with management after the draw with Rovers.

"After that meeting we spoke together and tried to clear the air after the defeats to Inter and Manchester City," said Ancelotti.

"After that, the players were more focused on our aims. We were able to change our aims from the Champions League to the Premier League and the FA Cup."

Now Ancelotti has the task of defending the double as well as improving their performance in the Champions League next season. But Ancelotti insists he can cope with the pressure.

"The pressure is normal when you manage an important club like Chelsea," added the Italian.

"Now we have to take time to think about next season, about the future, because I think this could be the beginning of a fantastic cycle. I think we can improve our play and our confidence with these victories behind us."