John Terry admitted yesterday that Chelsea must build a commanding lead by Christmas if they are to win the Barclays Premier League.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side moved five points clear of Manchester United by beating their closest challengers on Sunday, but Terry is concerned about the impact of the African Cup of Nations in January and fears that they need to extend their lead further by the end of the year.

Chelsea will lose Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, John Obi Mikel and Salomon Kalou to the tournament in Angola, while fears over the strength of their squad were compounded yesterday by the news that Ashley Cole will be out for several weeks with a fractured tibia. The England left back suffered the injury during Chelsea’s Champions League win over Atlético Madrid last month but, after using painkilling injections to get Cole through games for several weeks, the club have decided to give him a period of rest.

Cole’s injury and the impact of the African Cup of Nations increases the likelihood of Chelsea dipping into the transfer market in January, particularly as most of their rivals will not be affected by the tournament. United do not have an African player in their first-team squad, while Arsenal will only lose Emmanuel Eboué and Alexandre Song, neither of whom could be considered indispensable.

Chelsea are fortunate to have a run of relatively straightforward Premier League fixtures in January, but Terry believes they can take nothing for granted and must capitalise on their rich vein of form.

“With the way we’re playing it’s important that we build up a good cushion before we lose the African lads in the new year,” he said. “We’ve got some tough games coming up and it’s important to keep that five-point lead and try to increase it.

“If you look at the fixtures in January we should be OK, but nothing is certain any more. We play Hull, Sunderland, Birmingham and Burnley, and maybe a couple of cup-ties.

“Two or three years ago we could go into certain games and say we were probably going to pick up three points. We can’t do that any more.”

Terry has taken heart from the fact that on the two occasions Chelsea have won the Premier League they led from the front, a feat the captain is backing them to repeat this season. The 28-year-old also knows how difficult it is to come from behind to win the title, as Chelsea have narrowly failed to chase down United in each of the past three seasons after an indifferent start to the campaign.

“It’s encouraging to know that the two times we won the league we did it from the front,” Terry said. “We led all the way, and we have that confidence in the back of our minds.

“I think our record against the ‘big four’ was where we lost it last season, as well as too many draws at home. It’s a good psychological weapon for us to be winning these games, and we are delighted we’ve played Liverpool and Man U and got the victories.”

Terry believes that the Premier League is already developing into a three-horse race, a prediction that will increase the intensity of Chelsea’s visit to Arsenal at the end of the month.

“I think it’s between the three of us, as Arsenal are looking good, too,” Terry said. “They’re free-flowing and scoring goals like they always do. It’s just when they pick up injuries they tend to miss a few key players.

“United will kick on and certainly won’t give up. They’ve had a few injury problems and missed a few key players, but once everyone is fit again they will push us and Arsenal right to the very end.”

Stylish Terry finds back of the (landing) net

Has John Terry signalled his intention to overthrow David Beckham in the style-icon stakes? Ever a man of the people, Terry featured on the front of this week’s Angler’s Mail in a thermal top with a large carp and above a picture of a cooked breakfast — full English, of course — but the message it sends to the man he succeeded as national captain is quite clear.