Chelsea 1 Barcelona 0; Should Roberto Di Matteo Get the Job?

Okay so by now the whole world knows that Chelsea holds a 1-0 lead over Barcelona going into the second leg at the Nou Camp in the Champions League. I think it was a result that few people saw coming before the game.

 Chelsea still has significant work to do in order to reach the final. Nevertheless, to still be in the tie is an achievement in itself against, arguably, the best club side in world football. Most people would have put Barcelona down as the clear 2012 Champions League winners.

 So, the West London team has just thrown one almighty spanner into the works. But they clearly have an awful lot of work to do in Spain. However, the other issue is the future of manager Roberto Di Matteo.

 I think most people would agree the impact that Di Matteo has made has been positive. The race for fourth place in the Premier League is a tight one. It seems to be a three-way battle between Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur (Spurs), and Newcastle United.

 Spurs are on an awful run of form, and may well have to settle for sixth place. Newcastle is on somewhat of a hot streak, but Chelsea will be hoping that they slip up. The London club also has an FA Cup final appearance to look forward to.

 All this means is that Roberto Di Matteo should, at least, be in the running to be the next full-time Chelsea boss. The fact that he was given the job until the end of the season suggests something. We know that expectations are massive at this club. They could easily have acquired a big-name foreign coach to take charge.

 Instead, they took the decision to sack Andre Villas-Boas and replace him with a relative managerial novice in the shape of Di Matteo. The Italian has gained some experience with stints in charge of Milton Keynes Dons (MK Dons) and West Brom. He has served an apprenticeship, if you like. He also has the experience of being a former player at Chelsea.

 However, he doesn't have the sort of big club management experience that Chelsea usually look for in their coaches. But the Italian has shown that the job does not faze him, and he is more than capable of doing it.

 If Chelsea was to appoint DI Matteo on a multi-year contract, it would appear to suggest a change of direction from the club. However, it is still likely that they will turn their attentions to a respected foreign coach instead. Until he hears otherwise, Di Matteo is just keeping the seat warm.

 But if Chelsea does give the Italian an opportunity, it may not mean much. I thought when Chelsea appointed Andre Villas-Boas that they were going to change their policy. The £13.5million compensation payment suggested a long-term vision.

 However, that proved to not be the case as the Portuguese coach didn't even last the full season. So, if Di Matteo was to get the job the expectations would have to be realistic. We have seen that Manchester United and Manchester City seem to be ahead of every other team in the league.

 Therefore, telling Di Matteo to go and win the Champions League and Premier League titles or you are out of a job is not a fair or realistic expectation. Someone needs to go in and get a bit of time to rebuild the club, bring in some younger players to be the next breed of Chelsea stars.

 That process takes time, and a manager needs to be an opportunity to do it, in my opinion, Jose Mourinho should have been the man to get that chance. But that whole situation is in the past and maybe Di Matteo is the future.

 Expectations should be set at Champions League qualification and progress in that tournament as well as in both the domestic cup competitions. But that would not be seen as acceptable in the eyes of Roman Abramovich, with the money he has put in only titles are acceptable.

 All I would say is that if Chelsea defeat Barcelona in the Champions League, Di Matteo deserves an opportunity to continue to be the manager beyond the end of the season.