LONDON (AFP) - Joe Cole expects Chelsea to emphasise their Premier League title credentials by gaining revenge over Tottenham in Wednesday's vital clash at White Hart Lane.

Avram Grant's side make the short trip across London knowing a win would move them level on points with second-placed Arsenal and keep the pressure on leaders Manchester United.

It is a remarkable turn-around for a team that appeared to be on the brink of imploding less than two weeks ago.

In the aftermath of Chelsea's embarrassing FA Cup exit at Barnsley, you would have been hard-pressed to find a punter willing to put money on the Blues making a serious title challenge.

But they are back in the race after wins over Derby and Sunderland.

Now Grant has the chance to answer the critics who claim he can't win the really important matches.

Where his predecessor Jose Mourinho taught Chelsea how to thrive in the spotlight, Grant's team have failed to rise to the big occasion under the Israeli.

So a victory on Wednesday would help erase the bitter memories of last month's League Cup final defeat against Spurs and provide solid evidence Grant can get his star-studded squad to perform when the chips are down ahead of Sunday's showdown with Arsenal.

Cole has no doubts Grant can help Chelsea emerge from United and Arsenal's shadows to take a third title in four years.

"It is very tight at the top and the race is wide open. So we need to stay focused because this is the time when you can't afford to throw anything away," Cole said.

"We're happy in the shadows, lurking there. Now we're ready to build some good form and go on the onslaught. This is a great time for Chelsea.

"No one on the planet knows who is going to win the league at the moment. It's just a case of making sure we keep performing.

"But I think we're hitting form at just the right time and, hopefully, this is the start of bigger and better things for Chelsea."

While beating struggling Derby and Sunderland is hardly a guarantee of title success, Cole insists those back-to-back wins have given fresh impetus to a squad who had been feeling sorry for themselves after the Barnsley result.

"Perhaps losing the League Cup final and the FA Cup game at Barnsley might turn out to be a bit of a blessing if it helps us address where we were going wrong in the weeks leading up to those games and make us wonder if we'd taken our eye off the prize a little bit," Cole said.

"Maybe now we've seen the other end of the scale. The Chelsea everyone saw lose to Spurs was low on confidence and didn't play with anywhere near enough intensity and confidence.

"We've come back well but we know there are still improvements to be made."

While Chelsea still have silverware to play for, Tottenham's stars are fighting for their futures at the club.

Juande Ramos's side are heading in the right direction, as their Wembley victory against Chelsea showed, but they are certain to finish in mid-table after Sunday's defeat at Manchester City.

That isn't good enough for Ramos, who didn't take kindly to Robbie Keane's display of petulance when he substituted the striker at the weekend.

The Spaniard is considering a close-season clearout and warned his players that he has no qualms about denting a few egos to get what he wants.

"I treat everyone equally within the squad and players know they have a right to play just as much as anyone else," Ramos said. "We don't give any value or importance to conversations like that.

"I make changes according to the requirements of each game, what I think are for the benefit of the team.

"From time to time you do need to give players a rest when they have played a lot of minutes themselves."