Soccer English FA PremiershipChampions Chelsea are relishing the New Year battle with Manchester United as they attempt to complete a hat-trick of Premiership titles.

Jose Mourinho's men eased their way into the English League Cup semi-finals with a narrow 1-0 victory at Newcastle on Wednesday night having reduced United's lead at the top of the league table to just two points.

With third-placed Liverpool 11 points adrift of the Blues and Arsenal a point further away in fourth, the race for the Premiership title has assumed the look of a two-horse event, and Chelsea are not about to released their stranglehold on English football without a major fight.

Mourinho's number two, Steve Clarke, said: "The Premier League will take care of itself. Manchester United have done well this season; we have done very well. That is why we are both clear at the top of the table.

"There is a significant gap back to third place, so you have to take your hat off to the top two and say we are looking forward to the fight in the second half of the season."

Chelsea travel to Wigan tomorrow and then have home games against Reading and Fulham over the Christmas holiday - and Clarke is confident the growing momentum will be maintained.

He continued: "Christmas is a difficult period for every club. You play four matches in a very, very short space of time and you have to make sure you utilise your squad well. You have to rotate well, hope your players rest and recover well and hopefully get the points you require over the Christmas period. We do not worry about any opposition, we worry only about ourselves."

Chelsea certainly did not worry about Newcastle as, despite leaving out some of their biggest names, they managed to safely negotiate a potentially tricky visit to St James' Park.Clarke said: "It was a good night for the club because we had a chance to rest some key players."

Meanwhile, Andrew Johnson has accepted an apology from Mourinho following claims by the Chelsea manager that the Everton striker is a serial diver.

Mourinho issued his apology on Wednesday after Everton threatened legal action and a complaint to the FA over Mourinho's post-match tirade. In a statement on Everton's official website, Johnson echoed Mourinho's sentiment that he has the "utmost respect" for the Chelsea manager, and said as far as he is concerned it is the end of the matter.

"I am pleased that Mr Mourinho has apologised for the comments he made. I have the utmost respect for both Chelsea and Mr Mourinho as a manager. Everton and myself can now concentrate on the games ahead."

Bolton's highly rated full-back Joey O'Brien could be ruled out for the whole season. The Republic of Ireland international is undergoing a rehabilitation programme following knee surgery and is not expected to resume training for another three to four months. O'Brien, 20, has not featured for Bolton in the current campaign after suffering the setback in pre-season.

Bolton manager Sam Allardyce said: "Joey is really distraught. When he finished here last year he was on a high after playing 28, 30 games. Then before the season got under way, he was stricken by an injury that has become increasingly worrying.

"He has experienced the accolades, now he is experiencing the cruelty of the game. Joey is on a rehabilitation programme and is going to be out for another three to four months. As he has had surgery we have to make sure we get this injury 100 per cent right for his long-term future. It should stand the lad in real good stead."

Luton manager Mike Newell insists the true extent of corruption in football cannot be established without a much broader inquiry into transfer dealings.

Newell - who claimed in January that "bungs" remained widespread within the game - has revealed his dissatisfaction with this week's Stevens report.

"The game is not clean and Lord Stevens said that yesterday when he was asked the question directly. He said he felt there was corruption - and that's the only question where anybody needs to take notice of the answer."

He continued: "Go back five or 10 years and involve everybody - because people with nothing to hide will fear nothing."

Festive Fixtures

Chelsea

Dec 23rd: v Wigan (a)

Dec 26th: v Reading (h)

Dec 30th: v Fulham (h)

Manchester Utd

Dec 23rd: v Aston Villa (a)

Dec 26th: v Wigan (h)

Dec 30th: v Reading (h)