Roberto Di Matteo wants to bring more success for Chelsea, after the European champions confirmed his appointment on Wednesday.
Di Matteo, who led Chelsea to the FA Cup and European Champions League title last season, was given a two-year contract, and now the Italian hopes to continue his magical touch. "I'm obviously delighted to have been appointed as manager and first-team coach," he said.
"We all achieved incredible success last season that made history for this great club. Our aim is to continue building on that and I'm already planning and looking forward to the squad's return for pre-season.
"'We certainly want to do better in the league; last season was a difficult one and we want to bridge that gap between us and Arsenal and the two Manchester teams and obviously continue to do well in the cup competitions.
"'I had a wonderful break with my family, it was very enjoyable but now the work starts.
"I have to start planning for pre-season. We've lost a few players who are out of contract and we've already signed a couple of players, so there will be a slight change, but there won't be a complete overhaul of the squad.
"I won't discuss now what we will do in the market, all of that takes place behind the scenes, but we will try to make the right signings for the functionality of the squad."
Di Matteo is the popular choice, after several veteran Chelsea players including Frank Lampard and John Terry lent their support to the Italian. It is understood Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich was keen on persuading Pep Guardiola to come to Stamford Bridge, but settled for Di Matteo after it became clear, Guardiola would be available only after one year.
Abramovich will, most likely, try to bring in Guardiola at the end of next season. Di Matteo, however, will be hoping he can prove his worth by bringing in more success.
"Roberto's quality was clear for all to see when he galvanised the squad last season and helped the club make history, and the owner and board are very pleased he will be continuing his good work," chief executive Ron Gourlay said.
"We all believed he was a young coach with much to offer when we first asked him to take charge of team affairs in March and the manner in which he worked with us, the players and all the staff, and the success that followed, made him the clear choice when it came to selecting the person to take us forward in the seasons to come.
"We will be working closely with Roberto in the weeks ahead, some exciting signings have already been made and Roberto has had input into those.
"Although he has set the bar very high in the short time he has been in charge, we know that Roberto is the right man to lead Chelsea onto further success."
