With a big FA Cup tie to be played and the impact a late goal can have in knockout football, Petr Cech has been talking about what goes through his mind when he attempts to alter the course of a game at the opposite end of the pitch.

Cech has not felt the need to come up for corners often at Chelsea but during the league game at QPR earlier in the season, with his side 1-0 down, he decided to head into the opposing penalty area late in the game in an attempt to rescue a point, as he explains..

'There is no particular time of a game when I feel I need to go up, it's just a case of seeing how the match develops,' he says.

'I went up earlier in the season at QPR because we were losing, we only had nine players on the pitch and there was only 40 seconds left, so of course in that situation you do whatever it takes. If you concede another goal it doesn't really matter at that point.'

Jimmy Glass, the former Carlisle keeper, famously came up for a corner in a match against Plymouth Argyle in 1999 and scored the goal which kept his side in the Football League, sparking a pitch invasion and ensuring his place in football folklore.

But while Cech is yet to actually get his name on the scoresheet, his presence in the opposition penalty area has, in the past, paid dividends.

'It was an away game for Sparta Prague against Spartak Moscow in the Champions League,' he said. 'I came up for a corner in the 93rd minute and won a header which went across the face of the goal for my teammate to score from close range, it was an equaliser and the game finished 2-2.

'Apart from that occasion, I have been in that situation two or three times, twice for the national team, but unfortunately I didn't score or create anything.

'Wearing the helmet makes a difference because it's harder to control. If you're heading with your skin it's easier to control and direct the ball, with the helmet you don't have that feeling.'

After a warm weather training camp in Mallorca this week, the players have come back revitalised and head to Loftus Road in confident mood following an unbeaten start to the year.

New manager, and former Stamford Bridge favourite Mark Hughes will have his QPR side well organised and fully focused, but Cech believes we can go there and come away with our place in the fifth round draw secure.

'The training in Mallorca was very good, as was the whole trip,' he admitted. 'We had lovely weather as well and the atmosphere among the players was great, so let's hope it shows in the game.'