Fourth-place finish would be ‘fantastic’ for Chelsea – Di Matteo
Chelsea interim boss Roberto Di Matteo admits a fourth-place finish would be a "fantastic" achievement for his side this season
Roberto Di Matteo believes his Chelsea side’s new-found confidence can be the key to ending the season on a high.
The Blues have won all four of their games since the Italian took charge on a temporary basis following Andre Villas-Boas’s dismissal earlier in the month but face a testing trip to Eastlands to take on Manchester City on Wednesday.
Fernando Torres ended his barren run with a brace in a man-of-the-match display against Leicester City in the FA Cup quarter-final – but Di Matteo does not think there has been a major change in the Spaniard’s demeanour since Sunday’s clash.
“I believe a confident team can be the difference between now and the end of the season,” said Di Matteo. “He [Torres] was fine before [Sunday]. He’s just getting on normally with his work and his football – he’s happy at the moment.
“I’m glad that we seem to be able to get these players to play at the best level and hopefully going forward it’s going to stay like this.”
Chelsea currently sit in fifth place in the Premier League table, three points behind Arsenal in fourth – and Di Matteo admits finishing in the top four would be a “fantastic” achievement for the Londoners after a turbulent league campaign.
“With every win you get [more] spirit and belief,” he continued. “We believe that we can finish strongly this season and for us, fourth place would be fantastic.”
“Hopefully we can have a good game tomorrow and pick up some points. I think we just have to focus on games and hope that we’ll be where we want to be at the end of the season. Fourth place is what’s important to us, third place would be even better.”
Di Matteo also revealed that captain John Terry will miss Wednesday’s trip to Eastlands, but expects the centre-half to be fit for Saturday’s showdown with Tottenham.
“I expect him [Terry] to be OK for the weekend,” he added. “It’s just a short-term [injury].
“He’s a crucial member of our team and a good leader on the pitch so it’s better when he’s available. He’ll be OK for Saturday.” 
