Shevchenko asked to go and the Italians relented.

But it has not been the happiest of moves and, on Friday morning, Shevchenko woke up to headlines telling him he certainly didn't feature in an elite of eight Chelsea players named by manager Jose Mourinho. They were his untouchables and Sheva simply wasn't one of them. He had, the manager agreed, "failed to adapt". Such frankness must have been a shock to the system.

By that lunchtime Shevchenko was pulling up a chair at the club's training ground to explain his thoughts on the subject, the disappointments and frustrations he has felt since moving to Chelsea . . . and why it's "ridiculous" to claim that he's looking for a return to Milan.

First Mourinho's candid assessment. "It's a thing that a manager has to decide over the whole season, for the whole team and for the club's objectives, " Shevchenko says of the manager's selections.

"If a manager decides that a player has to be dropped then it has to be accepted. This is a team game and there are 22 players all fighting to be in the team. They all want to be in the team and to win things."

But didn't it hurt to be excluded, especially as Ashley Cole and Michael Ballack, the other major summer signings, were named?

"I have belief in Jose. And what he decides, I accept."

But Shevchenko is at pains to point out that, yes, he has struggled to adapt but also struggled with fitness after suffering knee ligament damage at the end of last season.

"For me continuity is important, " he says. "But I changed country, changed everything.

Also I wasn't happy with my fitness. It was difficult with injury, the World Cup and all the changes that can be stressful. I didn't manage to rest and there's also more pressure with a new team.

Everything seemed to be about Andrei Shevchenko. I spent seven years in Milan.

It's always a problem when you change language, culture and for my family also."

Given the Ukrainian's stellar status . . . European Cup winner, Player of the Year and serial top scorer in Serie A . . . didn't he expect an easier ride? "At Milan, also, I had difficult times, " Shevchenko says. "I wasn't given respect and confidence, I earned it.

And what I'm doing here is working hard, I'm helping the team and when I feel I'm on top form I have no problems at all."

Mourinho has certainly given Shevchenko time to prove himself . . . although he has also dropped him, rather than rested him, on at least two occasions . . . and will continue to do so. He certainly needs him. Having changed formation, playing with two strikers, and trimmed his squad Mourinho cannot afford to carry any passengers. So is Shevchenko worried that a new striker may arrive in the January transfer window? It's a question that pricks his pride and competitive spirit.

"The team needs to win and will win things." And if the club decides that other players are needed it will bring them in. Big teams have big objectives. Nobody in any of the big teams has a clear right to play all the time."

Certainly Mourinho's definition of being one of his untouchable players . . . Frank Lampard, John Terry, Claude Makelele, Michael Essien, Ricardo Carvalho and Didier Drogba were the others . . .

included the clear qualification of "because of the way he plays". It's a form thing. And Mourinho also said he believed Shevchenko was now "going in the right direction".

Today and Chelsea are at home to Arsenal. Not so long ago it would have been a contest between two title contenders. Now Chelsea's priority is simply to pull back Manchester United's lead.

"It's a big game for Arsenal, " Shevchenko says. "But it's very important for Chelsea that there's a six-point difference between us and Manchester. In these big games we have to be ready and it's a game I want to play well in."

A good performance would help alleviate the pressure on him and that increased further after a Russian newspaper printed quotes, attributed to Shevchenko, claiming he'd "pack his bags" if Mourinho didn't want him. The player denies saying any such thing, or talking to the publication. "If the media continues to write things I have not said then I will not speak to them any more, " he says bluntly.

But what of Milan? Would he go back? Even one of his agents, Fabio Parisi, has said "never say never". "I'm staying here, " Shevchenko says emphatically. "It's just talk, talk. I've never thought once about going back to Milan.

My objective is for Chelsea to win something big. But I also came here for a special reason. Do you think I would want to leave after three months?"