Gianfranco Zola is determined to see a reaction from his players when they go to Chelsea this weekend looking to prove a point.
Last season, the manager's men went to Stamford Bridge and more than held their own against their hosts. In the end, they had to be content with a 1-1 draw but, with a bit of fortune on their side, could have secured a famous victory.
After the disappointment of the 2-1 weekend reverse against Bolton Wanderers, Zola is eager to see his team bounce back. He is waiting for news on knocks for Julien Faubert and Junior Stanislas, while Manuel da Costa is banned for the next three matches after his reserves red card last month.
"We have to pick ourselves up and go again this week as we have a massive game to come at Chelsea," Zola said.
"I told the players that we lost three points that we should have won and we need to get them back as soon as possible. I don't care that we are playing Chelsea next Saturday or Arsenal after that. We are going to go to Stamford Bridge and fight for our lives. I have no doubt about that.
"We have to remember that we did well and drew at Chelsea and Arsenal last season. Actually we could have got more than a point at Stamford Bridge when we were in a similar situation. I know my players will be determined to make up for the frustration. I am not going to go there already beaten because I know football can surprise you. "
Zola will also be grateful for the chance to work all week with his players having only had one day's full preparation for Bolton. He is under no illusions though about the challenge ahead and stressed the club cannot rely just on getting enough points from the five fixtures to come at the Boleyn.
"You can think that you can leave the away games - but, by doing that, you are putting pressure on yourself for the home games. So you need to get some points away and we are going to be working on that.
"We are thinking that the relegation safety mark is 37, 38 points. It is difficult for everybody, not only us, to get points so we'll see what happens. We think that 37 should be enough."
The slow start at the weekend cannot be repeated. "It doesn't help. It's been a season when we haven't got going as well as we would have wanted. That is the thing that frustrates me most. We have to understand that this will be a tough season until the end so our focus has to be 100 per cent.
"When we tried to play, we caused [Bolton] problems. We didn't create anything when we just kicked the ball into the strikers.
"The goal we scored through Alessandro Diamanti was because we changed the ball from right to left. The other opportunities were created like that. When you are behind, you have to create different situations and hope that the ball goes in instead of hitting the crossbar.
"There is not much more to say, the players know exactly what happened and why we lost. This is a lesson that we cannot repeat. It is a big lesson and we will respond next time."
Zola will have an opportunity to run the rule over some of his squad including the returning Kieron Dyer with practice-match run-outs this week while Scott Parker will be available against his former club this weekend because he avoided picking up a tenth yellow card on Saturday.