Hasselbaink shoots to score the opening goal against West Ham United (StuForster/Allsport)

Two goals apiece from Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Eidur Gudjohnsen during the 5-1 victory against West Ham at Stamford Bridge on Sunday provided proof of a partnership that has grown in stature and understanding as this season has progressed.

Goalkeeper James, very much on the receiving end in that one-sided encounter, said: 'One of the fears before the game was that there would be a lot of shots coming my way, and the start of the game gave us an indication of what was to come.

'It is the first time in my career that I have let in five goals. I don't think I threw any of them in, but from a personal viewpoint it is still very disappointing.'

All the more so for James since the game was watched by Sven Goran Eriksson at a time when the West Ham man had every right to believe that he has been playing as well as any other goalkeeper hoping for a place in England's World Cup line-up.

As Claudio Ranieri strives to build Chelsea in his own mould, he can thank his fellow Italian Gianluca Vialli for having the foresight to bring Gudjohnsen and Hasselbaink to Stamford Bridge before his hotly-debated departure.

Ranieri had worked with Hasselbaink, whom he affectionately calls 'Jimbo', at Atletico Madrid, and so was more than aware of the goalscoring consistency the man from Surinam has achieved. He scored 42 goals in two seasons at Leeds and won the Premiership Golden Boot last season.

Yet, Hasselbaink claims not to be absorbed with his own scoring statistics. He said: 'I don't think about those things. The important thing is that we work together and collect as many points as we can. It is not about the number of goals I have scored.'

That total has now reached 19 for the season. Gudjohnsen, who has started eight games fewer, now stands on 16, with 11 of them coming in his last 14 matches.

The Chelsea pair are a match for Robbie Fowler and Mark Viduka at Leeds, Emile Heskey and Michael Owen at Liverpool - and even Manchester United's pairing of Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ruud van Nistelrooy, currently looking to extend his record of scoring in eight successive Premiership matches.

Ranieri said: 'I think they are getting better as a pair of strikers and that is very important for Chelsea. This couple can do some very good things for the club.'

Much of their improvement is due to the philosophy that Ranieri preaches at Chelsea's Hillingdon training ground, his voice rising above the jets landing at Heathrow. He believes that when Chelsea are attacking in the final third of the pitch the time is right for play-ers to try their flights of fancy.

Neither Hasselbaink nor Gudjohnsen is in the Gian-franco Zola class when it comes to nimble footwork but there is still something awesome about their finishing qualities.

It is the improvement in Gud-johnsen that has been a revelation over the past few weeks, as he has blossomed into the player that Vialli, who knows a thing or two about good strikers, expected him to become.

The Icelander was brought to west London from Bolton to replace the failed Chris Sutton. Gudjohnsen played as a teenager alongside Ronaldo at PSV Eindhoven but Bolton picked him up on a free transfer from his hometown side Reykjavik.

He has a better goals-per-game ratio than Hasselbaink and has scored 29 times in 40 starts, though some of those have come during his 23 appearances as a substitute.

There seems to have been an astonishing improvement in his attitude and his performance following the disgrace of his drunken rampage with some of his team-mates at Heathrow airport on September 12 last year - an event which might well prove to be a watershed in his career.

The criticism of Chelsea's stance over whether players should travel to Tel Aviv for a European match last October - Gudjohnsen was one of those who declined to board the plane - has also increased his determination.

There is plenty of verbal jousting in the relationship between the two strikers. Gudjohnsen said: 'I shout at Jimmy as much as he shouts at me. He is so focused on winning that he lets his emotions burst out. That is the way he is, but you wouldn't want to change him.'

Each complements the other's style of play, with Gud-johnsen preferring to receive the ball at his feet, while Hasselbaink wants the space to run on to the ball to allow him to take advantage of his greater pace.

Gudjohnsen said: 'I like to put the ball into his path when he makes his runs. I think he makes me look a better player.'

The two strikers can take Chelsea a step closer to Europe in tomorrow's Worthington Cup semi-final second leg at Tottenham, starting, as they do, with a 2-1 advantage from the first leg.