Put Bolton behind us, feel some pride in second place and somehow wait for a truly special night in Moscow is the message from columnist and former Chelsea Player of the Year Pat Nevin.

If ever a ten-day break was welcome then now is the time for the Chelsea first team squad although I don't think I can bear to wait so long. The hope is that it will be enough of a break to get John Terry and/or Ricardo Carvalho close to full fitness for what is without a doubt the biggest game in the club's history.

Some will look back to a time in the early eighties when the club managed to scrape the win that kept them in the old second division and there is an argument that Clive Walker may well have kept the club in existence that day. Other than that however, this 90 minutes in Moscow is one that the entire world will be watching like no other.

Sunday was of course a disappointment, but realistically in hindsight I think staying with Manchester United all the way to the end was a magnificent effort. There have of course been plenty of occasions when we could say if only. If only Heskey hadn't found the space a few weeks ago when his Wigan side denied us two points right at the death, then who knows what might have happened - and there are plenty more.

The last minute equaliser by Bolton was unimportant in the end as the chance for the title had gone by then, but it did underline for many of us the importance of having our first choice defence available in eight days time.

Bolton themselves played some of the most uninspiring football you are likely to see in the English top flight, but I can't really blame them. They haven't got the quality of players so it was all about defending and battling for them. There were times when they just sat in with ten men behind the ball and contented themselves with battering it the way they were facing and getting as many 'heavy' tackles in as possible.

Those of us who have been around a while will have noted a remarkable similarity in the style of Gary Megson's Bolton team with the Sheffield Wednesday one he played for many years ago. We weren't great fans of that lot at the Bridge back then either.

Avram Grant was quick to praise Sir Alex Ferguson after the match however and I think that was a classy thing to do in the circumstances knowing he was feeling as bad as anyone at the time. It was also clever as it defused any hostile tension that the Scotsman would like to use to drive his own team in the build up this week to the big one.

There will however be plenty of mind games between now and then, but I can assure you the players will forget all of it the moment the walk on to the newly-laid pitch in the Russian capital.

By then they will have been rested and the disappointment of losing the league will be put behind them. Footballers are a resilient lot and though it hurts to work hard for 38 games over nine months to just fall short, it is built into the psyche that the next game, whatever it is, is the important one, the one that has to be focused on 100 pre cent.

This is why in reality I do not think United will have gained a huge psychological advantage by claiming the big domestic prize.

I have said all along, and the players will agree, the Champions League is the big one for Chelsea. John Terry has said as much by underlining that this is the one medal missing from his collection that he really wants. Though as an England captain I think I know another he might like to have as well in time.

For all the sadness on Sunday, the team are still playing well. Without hitting the heights, a fair score line on the day would have been three or four-nil and the players know this. There is huge confidence to be had from playing well at the end of the season and that is not going to disappear with a late, lucky and in the end meaningless goal scored by Bolton at the Bridge.

Before the weekend many felt that Chelsea were showing better form than United and it is up to Avram Grant to remind the players of this and the fact that lots of people in the game were tipping the Blues as favourites to be the continent's champions. That has all changed after those emotional weekend fixtures and we will probably be considered underdogs now, but personally I don't think any player will care what the bookies or the pundits say in the end.

It was great to see Sheva get the goal against Bolton though and what could have been a vital one had the referee been a bit more considered up at Wigan. Andriy certainly puts in the effort when he gets his chances and I have great respect for him for that. Others might be less inclined after going through such a tough time and if he does score the winner next week, then all I can say is that he would have been worth every penny of the transfer fee and the wages he has earned.

I will be in Manchester on Wednesday working for BBC Radio 5 Live at the Uefa Cup final between Zenit St Petersburg and Glasgow Rangers. I will not be surprised if getting on for 100,000 Scotsmen turn up in the city on the day. Even though they know that less than 20,000 Rangers fans will actually get in to the stadium, they are aware of the importance of a European final to their club. They know what it will mean historically because they have waited 36 years for the chance to hold a real European trophy again.

To a man those fans will know the names of the 11 men who walked out that day in 1972 and came back after the match not merely heroes but legends. This is what everyone in our club from fans to owner should know; this is the chance for immortality in an historic footballing sense.

Things have come quickly Chelsea over the past few years, but I hope it doesn't cloud for a moment where we are and the possibility that it might not happen again for some time. This is a spectacularly hard trophy to win.

Enjoy this week, savour it, because every other football supporter in Europe would love to have his or her team preparing for this one. We might not get 100,000 people all the way to Moscow but there will be more than that who would love to have gone from all over the world. I just don't know how we are going to fill the time between now and next Wednesday though. On the other hand if fans can't stop thinking about it and are wishing the days away, just imagine how the players are feeling.

In last week's quiz I wanted to know what unusual colour the away kit was in season 1986/87. The then Chairman's wife allegedly chose the kit and it was officially described as jade. Though for fairness I also accepted the following descriptions that were sent in; aquamarine, green with silver/grey trim, turquoise, jade green with silver detail, light green, mint green, teal, cyan that is sea green, lime green, puke green, dog sick green, parrot blue green and finally greeny lighty bluey kind of thingy. I never did hear the butch chant of 'Come on You Jades' from the Shed End strangely enough.

The winner chosen at random as ever, this time to receive a four pack of Chelsea DVDs, is Pete Collins from South London. For next week to win a similar prize, could you tell me how many players in the current Chelsea squad already have a Champions League winners medal? Answers to pat.nevin@chelseafc.com