Hughton tips Di Matteo to relish Chelsea challenge

Birmingham manager Chris Hughton believes interim Chelsea boss Roberto Di Matteo will enjoy the challenge in the Stamford Bridge hot seat.

The west London side defeated the Championship outfit 2-0 in their FA Cup fifth-round replay at St Andrew’s, with Juan Mata and Raul Meireles on target.

Di Matteo took over from the sacked Andre Villas-Boas on Sunday and the win gets his reign off to a positive start following a poor run of late for the club.

Hughton insists Di Matteo’s previous experience as West Brom manager will put him in good stead for the rest of the season, but admits the pressure is on for the Italian.

“He’s got a job on, it’s a wonderful opportunity for him. He’s a manager and has been a manager so it’s not as though he’s not been thrust into a position like I have where you’re a coach for a period of time and thrust into the manager’s position, but he is a manager so has the experience,” Hughton said.

“I’m not too sure how he’ll look upon it, there’s a bit of pressure if you look at the fashion in which he’s taken the job and if you look at where they are in their Champions League campaign.”

The former Newcastle United manager believes Di Matteo will be able to enjoy his time as Chelsea boss, especially if the results flow, and insists the former player’s win is a testament to his team.

“I think he’ll enjoy the challenge, he’ll enjoy it if he gets results, this is a very good result for them today and that’s a great testament to my players,” he said.

“I like to think anyone who comes here and gets a result they’ve worked very, very hard for it. So it is a good result for him and it’s important for him that he has won in his first game and got a result and I think that will lift them.”

“I think a big club like Chelsea have to focus on getting in the Champions League and of course they’ve got a massive game on Tuesday (against Manchester City).”