With a winning streak stretching back to April, it is little wonder Nicolas Anelka is in such confident mood at the moment.

The Frenchman is having a good time of things this season, with three goals to his name already and fresh praise from his new manager.

Yesterday, Carlo Ancelotti described his man as a 'fantastic striker' with 'maturity and experience', and the player is equally keen on his coach, who he believes has been a major contributing factor to the winning run.

'I think he is very good, even though he is new to this country, he didn't know much about English football, but I think he is doing great,' Anelka said.

'It is not easy for a new manager if you don't know about England, it was difficult for him to come in but he has won all the games. And off the pitch he speaks a lot with the players, so it is good for us as well.'

Part of the Italian's appeal is the belief he has instilled in his players.

'We won a lot of games in pre-season and in the beginning of the season we are winning the games, it is important we have got a good start,' Anelka explained.

'We are confident, we have a good team and players and we know what we want to do in the games and how to win them.

'We have the mentality, we are stronger in our heads because we are winning games and we know that the coach has won a lot of trophies.'

It is little wonder there is such belief, with 11 consecutive Premier League wins and an average of nearly three goals a game this season.

'We can score goals,' smiled the 30-year-old. 'Even when we concede a goal we manage to come back and win. We must try to do this in all the games, and there is no reason why we cannot because we feel strong.'