Nicolas Anelka insists Chelsea enter Sunday's Community Shield in good shape despite their poor pre-season.
The Blues continued preparations for the new campaign by slumping to their third successive defeat with a 2-1 loss at Hamburg last night.
Having beaten Crystal Palace last month, they have since been seen off by Ajax, Eintracht Frankfurt and now Hamburg.
Manchester United are next up in the traditional curtain raiser to the season but Anelka is not alarmed by Chelsea's form.
"It was a good game against Hamburg but a difficult one because we've had a lot of hard training sessions over the last few days," he told the club's official website,
www.chelseafc.com."It's a shame because we conceded two rubbish goals but what can I say?
"I think we are improving in our play - we played well in some parts - and I hope we will be okay for Manchester United on Sunday."
Anelka was featuring in only his second match of pre-season and the 31-year-old France striker believes his team will hit top gear in the next fortnight.
"We will be ready in two weeks and we are working a lot in training, but it is very difficult to play this kind of game," he said.
"It's very hard after the training but we will be okay soon.
"Hamburg were a good side and they played some good football. It was a good pitch and a noisy stadium, and I think it was a perfect game for us to end our pre-season."
Meanwhile, Chelsea are hoping to complete the signing of Ramires having agreed an £18.2million fee with Benfica for the Brazil midfielder.
Ramires was expected at Stamford Bridge on Thursday to undergo a medical and discuss personal terms with the Barclays Premier League champions.
Ramires, who has won 16 caps for Brazil, played at the World Cup and sources close to the deal are confident obtaining a work permit would not be a problem.