Cesc Fabregas believes he is proving wrong those who doubted him and hopes to get a run in the Chelsea team after scoring the only goal in a 1-0 victory over Sunderland.
Fabregas has been linked with an exit from Stamford Bridge in recent months, with Nemanja Matic and N'Golo Kante Antonio Conte's favoured midfield pair in a 3-4-3 formation.
The Spain international was picked ahead of Matic at the Stadium of Light and made his mark with a sweet finish after 40 minutes, securing Chelsea's 10th successive Premier League win to send them six points clear at the summit.
Fabregas feels his recent displays have helped lift doubts around his future in west London and he is now targeting a regular place in Conte's first XI.
"In football today people forget very, very, very quickly who you are, and what you can do. Hopefully now I can get a run of games in the team," he said.
"People forget that tonight is just the second time in my life that I have played this system. I am getting used to it, I have lots of players in front of me in space and protection behind me.
"We want to keep winning, this period in the year is important and we can say a lot."
Although Fabregas was pleased with the result, he wants Chelsea to show more of a clinical edge after Willian, Victor Moses and Diego Costa all failed to convert chances to win the match, while a sensational save from Thibaut Courtois kept Sunderland full-back Patrick van Aanholt from equalising in the 93rd minute.
"We need to kill games off when we can because we had so many chances," the Spain international added.
"In the first half we were fantastic - we didn't let them do anything. In the second half they put a little bit more pressure on us but we played well.
"I think the performance was very good. We felt we were very, very strong."
