Chelsea boss Di Matteo has Manchester City in his sights
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UPDATED:
21:23 GMT, 20 July 2012
Roberto Di Matteo wants Chelsea to forget about being kings of Europe and concentrate on becoming rulers of England again.
In his first in-depth interview since
being appointed permanent manager, the Italian spoke about the 12 weeks
that changed his life last season, when he led Chelsea to an FA Cup and
Champions League double after the turbulent tenure of Andre
Villas-Boas.
Still got it: Chelsea boss Roberto Di Matteo and Frank Lampard in training
'Those weeks were the craziest and most amazing of my life,' said Di Matteo. 'We were fighting for fourth place, the FA Cup and the Champions League. We had to switch from one competition to another and the pressure was so intense. It was just crazy.'
But he is refusing to bask in the euphoria of that special night in Munich. The 42-year-old said: 'Manchester City have raised the bar. That is our challenge, to make up the 25-point gap in the league.
'They are doing what Chelsea did in 2004, in terms of how they have come on to the scene, signed a lot of players and tried to build a foundation. That's the challenge.'
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Di Matteo will have John Terry in his squad this weekend for the first time since the defender was found not guilty of a racial offence involving Anton Ferdinand.
And the Chelsea manager said: 'JT just wants to play football. He never once looked fazed by having the court case hanging over him. But he is a strong character.'
