The anticipation for the Champions League second leg against Manchester United has been building since the referee blew the full-time whistle last week, by the time of the same whistle on Tuesday night our season could be over - or could it just be beginning?

Passion is all I ask. And a win... ©Getty Images

I held off from posting on Thursday evening owing to the dour feeling I was still experiencing from the night before, at that point I was convinced that the tie was over.

Now the torment of a home loss has subsided, more and more of me is convinced that we can come away from Old Trafford with an incredibly famous comeback. A comeback from 1-0 down doesn't seem to be incredibly famous, however with history stacked against us, a result would be massive.

Only two teams in the history of the Champions' League have ever overturned a first leg deficit in the quarter final when they have lost the home leg. It is our job to make sure we are the third.

Sir Alex has been stating that Chelsea are obsessed with European victory and that the momentum is with United. Of course we are obsessed with European victory, it is the one trophy we have been seeking since grabbing the Premier League in 2005. It is the one trophy that we have experienced so much agony, and not as much ecstasy in too.

The Ramires non-penalty decision was symptomatic of what happens to Chelsea at this stage of the Champions' League. But that wasn't the cause of our loss, there were 90 minutes played before that and we cannot rest on refereeing decisions to make or break our chance of winning the cup - we have to earn the win, which we didn't in the home leg.

The midfield was as ever disappointing and the attack was once again lacking the sharpness to cause the threat that on paper it has.

I singled out Jose Bosingwa before the tie as being a risk, his hideous attempts at both attacking and defending vindicated my criticism - Chelsea just aren't as strong with him in the right back role ahead of Ivanovic.

If Abramovich does decide to sanction Ancelotti with the sack in the event of a defeat he needs to look closer to home, the decision not to replace Carvalho in the summer has left Chelsea bereft for half of a season in the league, and as was apparent last week - in the Champions' League.

What do we need to do to win on Tuesday?

Firstly we need to win the midfield battle, Giggs and Carrick had a quality partnership last week and Rooney tracked back so well to create chances further up the pitch.

In fact Rooney's performance last week makes me think that Anelka has to warrant a starting berth on Tuesday, he can do exactly the same job. Track back, get the ball and use his creativity to fashion some chances.

Next we need to take some risks. Last week we were nervous and tip-tapped our way around their half for the second forty-five minutes. Yes we had chances, but only 2 or 3 of any particular significance.

Taking risks on and off the pitch will be a necessity. We have it all to lose so will need to go for the game champing at the bit. The inclusion of Benayoun or Alex will be the sort of risks we need to take.

The only risk with Benayoun is his fitness, but Zhirkov can always be a replacement if Yossi doesn't make the full 90. In fact Zhirkov is far more of a threat from off the bench than at the starting whistle.

Alex is of course a much greater risk, a central defender not at full fitness can be prone to making mistakes. However a partially fit Alex over Bosingwa at right back again is a far more appealing situation for me.

On the pitch we need to be less nervous. I saw Frank Lampard last Wednesday behaving frantically and erratically at one point in the first half, he is supposed to be one of our leaders' and one of the more experienced of the squad. Perhaps this obsession has gotten to him too.

If we don't take advantage of a much weakened United team we only have ourselves to blame, United are in their worst state as a squad for years - and they came to Stamford Bridge and beat us. No doubts as a unit last week they worked very well, and they do have momentum on their side, something we have struggled with since the start of the season.

However we can look at on Tuesday as a cup final. We have to win no matter what, a 2-1 win isn't infeasible. It is what we achieved last season, we achieved that with hunger and drive.

Last season does seem echelons away though, Drogba is nowhere near the force he was. Lampard looks anonymous and Malouda is like a bad new signing again. The signs are worrying, and the odds are stacked against us.

In our favour is that we haven't had any major performances this season, every team has them. Last season the major performances were against United and Arsenal, this season we beat United with a good performance and got hammered at the Emirates. On Tuesday needs something special, and at least once a season you get that special performance.

On Tuesday we need to perform like the team under Ranieri against Arsenal in the Quarter Finals of the Champions' League. Arsenal had an away goal then, and in fact went in front in the second leg at Highbury. Wayne Bridge went on to get the winner late on, for a 2-1 victory. We would certainly take that all over again.

Before we start looking at a colourful unsuccessful history all over again, let's hope we can go out there and salvage something from this season. The script is calling for Torres to have the game of his life, my script is left blank at this time - I couldn't care less if we won off Edwin van der Sar's backside, just as long as we win.

No pressure!

Keep the Blue Flag Flying High (and try to keep it steady under the nerves!).

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