Chelsea captain Michael Ballack praised his team-mates for waking from their early slumber to overcome Fulham at Craven Cottage.Danny Murphy's penalty handed the Cottagers an early lead in Roy Hodgson's first match in charge before a Salomon Kalou header and disputed Ballack penalty sealed a 2-1 win for the Blues.

"First half, we had a bit of a New Year sleep, what we showed was not so good," the German told Sky Sports 1.

"But in the second half we came back and deserved (to win).

"It was a bit loud in the dressing room (at half-time), we needed the result and changed a lot with more pressure from the first minute."

Ballack insisted it was vital to keep winning despite Chelsea's crippling injury list and the imminent departure of several stars for the African Nations Cup.

"We have a lot of injured players," he added.

"We are close to the top of the table and that is important for us at this time."

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