No one could ever accuse Gianluca Vialli of not trying to master the English language. After this hard-fought win over West Ham, Chelsea's have-a-go manager turned to the challenge of describing their next opponents who they meet tomorrow night.
After rummaging through his under-stocked mental phrase book, Vialli decided on "the unbearable tempo of Bradford".
It sounds like a companion volume to The Unbearable Lightness of Being. But then Vialli sought to sum up the qualities Chelsea needed in order to counter Bradford's unbearable beings, deciding on the need for an "iron fist".
Saturday's absence from the team or bench of Frank Leboeuf was a product of the iron fist being raised if ever there was one, the manager clearly punishing the Frenchman's anti-Vialli outburst last week.
"It is important to send messages to the opposition," said Vialli. He was speaking about how the team play, but could just as easily have been referring to Leboeuf, whose Stamford Bridge future must now be in doubt.
Vialli's point about the iron fist is that, in the pursuit of the title, this is now more important than playing fancy football.
"We are labelled in a certain way sometimes and we want to prove to everybody that we are a different team this season," he explained.
"Especially when you play at Bradford or at other places where you know it's going to be particularly hard physically and the tempo is going to be unbearable, we have to show that we can cope.
"If we go there, play well and win, then future matches will be easier for us because the opposition will be a bit more apprehensive about playing us."
That message emanated loud and clear from the Bridge on Saturday when Chelsea beat West Ham, not by the quality of their football, but by matching Harry Redknapp's quality side for resolve and spirit.
Add a measure of luck and two pieces of thrilling individual skill, and Chelsea embraced all the ingredients needed to win the Premiership title.
The luck came on the half-hour when Shaka Hislop upended Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink. The offence looked to be just outside the area. But the referee Mr Barber pointed to the spot and Hasselbaink's penalty ended Chelsea's struggle for a breakthrough.
West Ham were rewarded for their persistence and imagination just after the break when Davor Suker cleverly fed Fredric Kanoute, who in turn found the third member of Redknapp's bold three-man strike-force, Paolo di Canio. The Italian coolly stroked the ball home without a blue shirt in sight.
Chelsea then had to dig deep as West Ham sensed a shift in the balance of power. Gianfranco Zola bent a tapped free-kick around the wall to leave Hislop standing.
Enter another of Vialli's summer signings: Mario Stanic. Picking up the ball about 40 yards out, he flicked it onto his knee, bounced it there for a second, dropped it to his foot and rifled a volley past Hislop.
West Ham did not give up. Kanoute headed home Di Canio's cross. But Chelsea had the last word. Tore Andre Flo hit the post, then Stanic headed in Roberto di Matteo's free-kick.
CHELSEA: de Goey, Panucci, Babayaro (Le Saux 70), Desailly, Poyet (Morris 82), Hasselbaink, Wise, Stanic, Melchiot, Di Matteo, Zola (Flo 70). Subs Not Used: Cudicini, Thome. Panucci.
WEST HAM: Hislop, S Pearce, Stimac, Suker, Di Canio, Lomas, Kanoute, Winterburn, Lampard, Carrick (Cole 85), Margas. Subs Not Used: Charles, Potts, Keller, Bywater.
