A job for Rob

Ray Wilkins says that Roberto Di Matteo's appointment will bring stability to Chelsea but believes it will be hard to live up to last season's success.

"I think it is very important that they have brought a little bit of stability into the club with Roberto and I think it will go well for him."
Ray Wilkins Quotes of the week

The Italian, who guided the Blues to FA Cup and UEFA Champions League glory while interim manager, has been confirmed in the Stamford Bridge hotseat on a permanent basis after signing a two-year deal with the club.

There had been speculation that the trophies would not be enough to convince owner Roman Abramovich to give him the job with the Russian reportedly keen to bring in former Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola.

But Wilkins says that his appointment is well deserved.

"I am delighted for him, he could not have done anything more," said Wilkins on Sky Sports News.

"I think that the waiting around has been a little bit of nuisance for him but he thoroughly deserves it and it will be nice to see that interim manager taken away from him.

"I think Abramovich was hanging on to see whether Guardiola did want to come out of his year-long retirement - I think it was no secret that he thinks that he is the guy to take Chelsea forward, but Roberto thoroughly deserves it.

"I think it is very important that they have brought a little bit of stability into the club with Roberto and I think it will go well for him.

"It will be difficult for him now because he has to surpass what he has already done - he has to wrestle the Premiership off Manchester City and Manchester United, who sit in second.

" It will be a tough season for him."

Wisdom

Wilkins believes that Di Matteo will not only have the support of the fans, but also of the senior players which will be crucial for next season's campaign.

And he says he must continue with the approach that saw him guide Chelsea to remarkable wins at both Barcelona and Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

Wilkins added: "Roberto, in his wisdom, selected the older players towards the later stages of the season and it bore fruit for him, they were very successful.

"Your club is only as good as your senior players and Chelsea have some remarkable players in that dressing room.

"You could see that they were playing with a smile on their face; admittedly they did get turned over a few times as far as football was concerned but they still came out on top.

"If you look at the semi-final against Barcelona they got away with one. If you look at the final against Bayern Munich they got away with it through sheer persistence and endeavour.

"I think that is what Roberto gave them, when you are dealing with the big players they need to play with confidence and they need to know that the person who is picking them has confidence in them and I thought that was pretty evident towards the end of the season."