Petr Cech believes Chelsea can still become Premier League champions, despite their 1-1 draw with Wigan Athletic last night.

The Chelsea players were jeered off the pitch following the match as Manchester United maintained a five-point lead at the top of the league with only four matches remaining. However, despite Emile Heskey’s injury time goal, which came after Michael Essien had given Chelsea the lead midway through the second half, the goalkeeper is refusing to concede the title.

"We are not throwing the towel in yet." Cech said. "We have a difficult game at Everton but if we beat them we cut the gap to two and then Manchester United have to come to Stamford Bridge. We need someone to do us a favour and beat United but we have to make sure we win all our games to keep the pressure on.

"They were lucky against Arsenal so they can be unlucky against Blackburn and other the other teams. The best thing about the Premier League is that all the teams have quality and there is always pressure. There are still points to play for and we need to keep fighting."

The Czech international was pleased to return to action just eight days after receiving 50 stiches in his face following a training ground collision with Tal Ben Haim.

"It was a bit of a risk to decide to play this game but I have been missing football for such a long time," he added. "So when I got the protection for my face I decided to ask the doc if they would let me play. He was not completely happy about it but he respected my decision and it was good to be back on the pitch. I wanted to play, I wasn't forced to play and I had no fear before the game because I knew the wound was protected.

"I have had bad luck all season so I was hoping that nothing would go wrong this time. It was a little bit different for me to wear the mask but as I said in the end I was happy to be back on the pitch. Talking still hurts but it is even harder after that game."