Blues keeping faith in Torres

Roberto Di Matteo has leapt to the defence of Fernando Torres again after former Chelsea boss Ruud Gullit put the boot into the misfiring striker.

Di Matteo denied £50m man Torres was enduring another crisis of confidence after managing barely a shot on target in his last three matches, all of which the Blues were unable to win.

Torres has endured plenty of criticism since joining Chelsea from Liverpool, but Gullit's outspoken attack perhaps carries extra significance because of the Dutchman's place in Stamford Bridge folklore.

Gullit, who masterminded the club's first trophy success of the modern era as well as bringing Di Matteo to English football, said it sometimes felt "like Chelsea are playing with 10 men" after Wednesday's Champions League draw with Juventus.

But Di Matteo said: "We're happy with him. Even when he doesn't score, he provides and works hard for the team and he's always an outlet for us. At the moment, there is no issue for us."

Di Matteo also insisted John Obi Mikel did not get the credit he deserved after the midfielder also came under fire for his performance against Juve. Mikel was the victim of two racist attacks on Twitter following the mistake that led to the Italian champions' equaliser on Wednesday.

It has yet to be established whether the perpetrators are Chelsea supporters and Di Matteo said: "Fans have the right to express their opinions and their feelings, but in the right way.

“It's a bit of a dirty job there, to try break up opponents' play. You don't always get recognised with the right credit.”

" Di Matteo shrugged off the implications of Roman Abramovich’s latest visit to Chelsea’s training ground, insisting he was more than happy to see the Russian there.

Blues boss Di Matteo confirmed Abramovich was at the club’s Cobham headquarters on Thursday amid reports he had questioned players and coaching staff following the draw with Juventus.

Visits from an unhappy Abramovich have proven a bad omen for Chelsea managers since the Russian bought the club and Di Matteo could be forgiven for being alarmed at receiving one just seven matches into his reign as full-time manager.

But he insisted his only concern was today’s Barclays Premier League game at Stoke and that dealing with Abramovich was par for the course.

“He actually comes quite often,” Di Matteo said. “He likes to be involved and he comes down whenever he can.

“He’s the owner and he likes to know what’s going on and he likes to speak to people — and he does that all the time.

“We weren’t happy about the result we got on Wednesday night, so it wasn’t a particularly happy camp yesterday here.”

Oscar was the goalscoring star against Juventus but he may need to brace himself for even more bumps and bruises today.

Di Matteo said: “Certainly it’s going to be a more physical game, because the Premier League in general is a bit more like that.

“But I’m pretty sure he’s ready for that. He’s an intelligent man and player and he will find ways to get around it.”