Benitez confident of top 4 finish despite loss

Chelsea manager Rafael Benitez remains confident his side will finish in the Premier League's top four and deliver silverware to Stamford Bridge despite their unexpected 2-1 defeat at Southampton. Saturday's loss at St Mary's allowed Tottenham Hotspur to move above Benitez's side into third place, while fifth-place Arsenal's victory over Reading leaves them just two points adrift of the Blues. With eight league games remaining - seven in the case of Tottenham - the battle to secure a place in the Champions League is set to intensify. However, for Chelsea, attention immediately turned to Monday's FA Cup sixth-round replay with Manchester United and the Europa League tie with Rubin Kazan, which precede a return to league action against Sunderland. And while the demands of the fixture list will stretch Benitez's squad to the limit -- he rested several key players against Southampton -- the interim manager insists they can deliver success. "Three points would have made things easier, but we have a game in hand," said Benitez. "We have to carry on and concentrate on Monday, then think about Thursday (Rubin Kazan) and Sunderland at home. That is the way. You have to be ready for the next challenge. "I have confidence we will finish in the top four and win one or two trophies." Southampton remain locked in a relegation battle, but they deserved the win. Jay Rodriguez put Mauricio Pochettino's side ahead in the 23rd minute and Rickie Lambert's 35th-minute free-kick secured the win after John Terry had equalised with a header. A second-half rally failed to bring Chelsea back into the game, but Benitez insisted he had no regrets about making wholesale changes with the United game in mind. He said: "We had to manage the squad. We didn't have many options, so we had to use the players we had to use."