Di Matteo unfazed by Chelsea pressure
Roberto Di Matteo says he does not feel under pressure at Chelsea despite being owner Roman Abramovich's eighth manager in nine years at the club.
- Agence France-Presse
- Updated: March 09, 2012 10:08 pm IST
Roberto Di Matteo says he does not feel under pressure at Chelsea despite being owner Roman Abramovich's eighth manager in nine years at the club.
Di Matteo was appointed interim manager until the end of the season after Andre Villas-Boas's abrupt dismissal from the Stamford Bridge dugout following last weekend's defeat at West Bromwich Albion.
However the former Blues midfielder is relaxed about the task of having to resurrect Chelsea's flagging season under the demanding gaze of Abramovich.
"How am I going to cope? I will still get up in the morning. Have a coffee. Still have my lunch, my dinner, and get on with my life as normal," Di Matteo said.
"At any club, there's pressure to achieve certain targets. It's always there. Even if you're working at another club. If you can't handle it, don't want it, you shouldn't be in this job.
"We are in a results driven business. It's very simple. At any club where you work, you'll have targets and the pressure is there. Everywhere. That's the common aspect for any manager, in League One, League Two, Championship or Premier League."
Villas-Boas was shown the door after reports of a divided dressing room, with senior players openly questioning his tactics and team selections.
However Di Matteo, who oversaw Chelsea's midweek FA Cup fifth-round replay win at Birmingham, said the squad had been increasingly united this week.
"I feel I have everyone on-side. I have spoken individually to all of them now over the five days. It's a team effort and we needed to get everybody pulling in the right direction," he said.
"We've spoken now and everyone is together. They all know what the task is for the last two months of the season. They're all on board. You saw that in the reaction on Tuesday. We have to just carry this on until the end of the season.
Chelsea face Stoke at home on Saturday, with Di Matteo vowing to stand by goal-shy striker Fernando Torres.
"He's a tremendous player, a fantastic guy too," Di Matteo said. "He had a great game on Tuesday and the only thing missing was a goal, but I don't really care about that. As long as the team win."