Claudio Ranieri has urged Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich to prolong his spending spree by insisting: "It is important that we continue to pick up the best players."
Ranieri yesterday added his fourth big-money signing since the Russian billionaire's arrival when he unveiled £17m Damien Duff, to add to the signings of Wayne Bridge, Geremi and Glen Johnson.
But the Italian boss stressed his rebuilding at Stamford Bridge should not end there if Abramovich is to turn Chelsea into genuine title contenders.
He told www.espnstar.com on the team's arrival in Malaysia for the Premier League Asia Cup: "It is important that the team continues to grow. And it is important that we continue to pick up the best players.
"While the team we had was good, we needed something more and the four new boys will surely add to team.
"We need players with good motivation so that we can continue to blend the team into one that can challenge Manchester United and Arsenal seriously at the top of the Premier League.
"But with the squad I have now, we will be very, very close to the bigger teams."
Chelsea open their Asia Cup campaign against the Malaysian national side on Friday and Ranieri was determined not to underestimate the strength of the opposition.
He said: "The humidity is high here, which is why I'm resting the players today after the long flight.
"But we have to win, we want to win and we will try very hard to win against Malaysia, who I know will also be trying very hard to stop us." That match could see Duff and Bridge make their Chelsea debuts, with the pair due to fly to Kuala Lumpur on Wednesday.
