Di Matteo unfazed by Guardiola speculation

The word around Stamford Bridge last night, as Chelsea prepared for their biggest game of a tumultuous season, was that owner Roman Abramovich still wants Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola to be his latest managerial acquisition in time for next season.

That gossip did not seem to bother interim first-team coach Roberto Di Matteo, who is within genuine sight of transforming Chelsea’s year from an all-time low under the Russian’s stewardship to his greatest yet.

It is a month since Di Matteo was promoted to lead the Chelsea side in the wake of Abramovich’s decision to sack Andre Villa-Boas after a run of six defeats in eight games, including a 3-1 first leg Champions League defeat away to Napoli.

Six wins in eight games later, including a remarkable reversal of fortunes against Napoli, and Di Matteo is on the verge of leading Chelsea into another European semi-final.

‘All’ they have to do now is defend a 1-0 first leg lead against Benfica to earn a mouthwatering semi-final against Barcelona.

The Italian coach, however, seems determined to convince his players that they have another Napoli-performance to produce if they are to progress.

He claimed: “A 1-0 lead is basically nothing and our players are aware of this. We have to go into the game with the right attitude, the same attitude as we had against Napoli because we have to win the game to qualify.

“This tie is far from over and Benfica have scored in every away game in this Champions League season so we know it is a difficult task ahead, but this Chelsea team has enough experience to deal with pressure; they have experienced a lot of games like this and can raise their game to perform in these pressure games. They are used to it.”

And whether Roman wants Guardiola or not, he will have only Di Matteo to thank if it all goes Chelsea’s way. Where Villas-Boas was edgy, irascible and confrontational, Di Matteo is coolness personified; there is much of Guardiola about him.

Not that anyone of us at Stamford Bridge last night could draw Di Matteo to discussing his long-term prospects ahead of the Benfica tie.

All he would concede was: “Chelsea is a fantastic club, I’ll agree with you on that. I need to win games, it’s as simple as that. It’s a results business and that’s all that matters.’’

He insisted his discussions with the owner about his future would remain private and added: “I don’t think about that because I am full with my work. All day I spend time preparing my team for the next game so I don’t think about that.”

Whereas Di Matteo smiles through talk of taking Barca’s European crown and brushes aside questions about Guardiola replacing him, all this Catalan chit-chat seems to have got under the skin on Benfica boss Jorge Jesus.

He said: “When people talk to Di Matteo there is a feeling that Barcelona is being talked about more [than us]. Chelsea have the upper hand but we will approach the game as if we had won the first leg.

“I am sure we have the quality and will be able to turn it around and do what they did in Lisbon. Away goals are important and we will be offensive. We need to score to progress and we will play an attacking game and take it to Chelsea.

“In the last leg they played for a 0-0 draw and ended up winning. They will be dangerous from set-pieces and we need to annul the advantage they have from the first leg.

“We have the ability to beat Chelsea, but we have more problems than Chelsea so we will just focus on this game and not about winning the Champions League.”

And Jesus will also have to get his tactics right too. Di Matteo has stuck fairly rigidly to a 4-3-3-1 formation since he took charge and his comforting approach has reignited the fortunes of players such as striker Fernando Torres.

Having got the best out of Didier Drogba and Frank Lampard to stun Napoli , he showed a calculating awareness to leave them on the bench in Benfica. Salomon Kalou took his chance that night to score the only goal of the game.

And Di Matteo could make changes again tonight. Drogba and Raul Meireles, who missed the weekend win at Aston Villa, looked comfortable in training last night. Defender David Luiz who came off injured in the first half of at Villa Park, also trained.

Now it is down to Di Matteo how he plays his cards, after his surprise tactics in Lisbon.

He added. “The selection will reflect the players who are in best form and shape to play against a strong Benfica side.”