LONDON: Champions Chelsea's miserable Premier League campaign sunk into new depths with a 1-0 defeat by Wolves at Molineux this morning.

Jose Bosingwa's own goal after only five minutes decided the contest as Carlo Ancelotti's men saw their faint title hopes all but disappear completely.

Salomon Kalou missed a golden second-half chance, shooting wide when clean through, and chief striker Didier Drogba shot against the outside of the post, but resilient Wolves stood firm and could have had a second goal if Stephen Hunt's freekick had dipped under rather than hit the bar.

The defeat means the Blues have had just two wins from their last 11 league games, and they stand nine points behind leaders Manchester United having played a game more.

However, Chelsea boss Carlo Ancelotti insists the title race is not over despite his side's shock defeat.

"We have to maintain confidence and move on," the Italian told Sky Sports.

"Nothing is lost in the season. It is difficult to fight for the title but nothing is lost.

"There are a lot of games and we have to keep going."

What about his own position as manager?

"I just can say that I have total support of the club in this moment. Obviously, I have to do better, it is not enough what we are doing in this moment."

The early own goal from Bosingwa knocked the stuffing out of the Blues, but Wolves defended stoutly and their goal was not breached.

"We didn't start the game well, we conceded the goal and after that it was very difficult," said Ancelotti.

"After that, we tried to play our football. We had opportunities to draw but it is difficult to explain what is happening to us. We have to keep going, we have to work hard and have confidence in the future.

"In this moment, we have to stay focussed on the little details because you lose games on the little details.

"The most important thing is to keep going. We have the experience, ability and skill to move on. We don't have to lose confidence in ourselves."

On the club's poor run of form, he said: "It's a very long time, it's too much for our team, for our club. We have to continue to work."

PETALING JAYA: The trip to Malacca this morning by our Karate exponents led by former international R. Puvanesvaran to meet Malaysia Karate Federation (Makaf) president Datuk Seri Ali Rustam was not fruitful.

The delegation was told to keep mum until Makaf have their meeting with the National Sports Council (NSC) later this month.

"We were told that the proposal to end P. Arivalagan's tenure will stand unless the technical committee changes their mind," said Puvanesvaran.

"Makaf wants us (the karate contingent) to wait until Jan 25 before commenting further. We were also advised not to make matters complicated by staging a walkout as we could face disciplinary action."

It was also learnt that the ruckus could end on a positive note as the meeting with NSC could result in Arivalagan being retained instead of hiring the yet to be named Iranian coach.

Meanwhile, Makaf exco members have decided the informal decision to boot Arivalagan as head coach of the karate squad will stand in an emergency meeting late last night at Ali Rustam's residence.

"The decision to relieve Arivalagan of his duties is purely to improve the sport. His (Arivalagan) four-year contract with Makaf has expired. So has the contract of all the other karate coaches," said Clement Soo, Makaf general gecretary.

"We have decided against retaining their services as we want to take karate to the next stage. The technical committee decided that this is the best method to reach the World Karate Federation level."

When pointing out the fact that under Arivalagan, karate had been improving steadily and any change would only delay success as the athletes have threatened to quit the national set (which would result in finding new talent), Clement was quick to say the improvements had not been pacy.

"We cannot wait for two or three years for change. This is a risk that the committee is prepared to take."