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The 28-year-old has been delighted with the Blues' recent displays in important games, but suggested that his own performances have dipped despite his hat-trick against QPR

Fernando Torres wants Chelsea to ensure their place in next season's Champions League by securing a top-four Premier League spot before their two major finals this campaign.

Roberto Di Matteo's men ran riot in a comfortable 6-1 victory over a poor QPR outfit on Sunday afternoon, with Torres' superb treble a highlight of the fantastic win.

The Blues can reach next season's Champions League if they win the final against Bayern Munich on May 19 but the Spaniard insists they want to guarantee their place with a top-four finish

He told Sky Sports: "It's been a very hard week for us and very important as well, the win against Barcelona and [qualifying for] the final of the Champions League, but we knew that we wanted to finish in the top four just to secure our place next season.

"We wanted to win all of our games, especially after the result with Newcastle yesterday.

"It's an important result and we keep on getting points and I am very happy with all three [goals], hopefully they're the first of many. The more important thing for me is that the team is in the best form of the season when all the important games are coming.

"[It was] difficult in the beginning and not getting the results, changing the manager during the middle of the season, so no-one was betting for us, but we knew that by working as a team that we could hit the targets and now we are in two finals and probably with the option to finish in the top four."

After scoring a late goal against Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final Torres looked like his confidence had been restored on Sunday. The 28-year old calmly rounded Paddy Kenny to score his first of the day, before staying cool to net twice more and complete his hat-trick.

However, the striker revealed that although he is now finding the net again, he believes his performances have not been as good as they were earlier in the season.

He continued: "It's different [to] feelings that I have in the past because I was feeling very good, very sharp, playing very well but I couldn't score.

"Now, to be honest, I feel like I'm not playing as well as before but I'm scoring goals and that's the more important thing for strikers and what the team needs more."

The victory means that the Blues are just just one point behind Newcastle, whom they face in their next league game and Torres acknowledged the importance of the clash against Alan Pardew's side, suggesting that an ideal scenario would be to head into the FA Cup final while in the league's top four.

"It's massive for us." He added. "We know that we need to win and we know that if we win the game that we're probably in the top four depending on the Tottenham result.

"We can approach the FA Cup final knowing that we are in the top four, knowing that we have the most important final at the end of the season, and we will have had a great season."