<p>After steering Chelsea to FA Cup and Champions League success and then being appointed manager on a permanent basis, Roberto Di Matteo is aware he needs to continue delivering trophies. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Chelsea begin their Premier League campaign on Sunday away at Wigan Athletic, with Di Matteo tasked with a significant improvement on sixth place last season. <br /><br />“Expectation levels are always high. It might have added a little pressure but it was always so high anyway,” the Italian told a news conference on Friday. “It’s an ambitious club and we know we have to try and win trophies and be successful.” <br /><br />Having been made interim manager in March with the team in turmoil following the sacking of Portuguese Andre Villas-Boas, Di Matteo sparked a remarkable turnaround in the club’s fortunes in the final two months of the campaign. <br /><br />Di Matteo was rewarded for steering Chelsea an FA Cup final win over Liverpool and then to a first Champions League triumph with victory over Bayern Munich when he was appointed manager on a permanent basis in June. <br /><br />Strikers Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou have departed Stamford Bridge in the close season with Eden Hazard, Marko Marin and Oscar arriving as Di Matteo looks to mount a title challenge. <br /><br />“All the players are looking forward to finally starting. Our aspiration is to do better than last season in the Premier League,” he said. <br /><br />“I still believe Manchester City is the favourite. They haven’t lost any key players, but (Robin) Van Persie is a good signing for (Manchester) United. “We have to try and catch up with the Manchester teams. The gap last season was big so our aim is to catch them up.”</p>
<p>After steering Chelsea to FA Cup and Champions League success and then being appointed manager on a permanent basis, Roberto Di Matteo is aware he needs to continue delivering trophies. <br /><br /></p>.<p>Chelsea begin their Premier League campaign on Sunday away at Wigan Athletic, with Di Matteo tasked with a significant improvement on sixth place last season. <br /><br />“Expectation levels are always high. It might have added a little pressure but it was always so high anyway,” the Italian told a news conference on Friday. “It’s an ambitious club and we know we have to try and win trophies and be successful.” <br /><br />Having been made interim manager in March with the team in turmoil following the sacking of Portuguese Andre Villas-Boas, Di Matteo sparked a remarkable turnaround in the club’s fortunes in the final two months of the campaign. <br /><br />Di Matteo was rewarded for steering Chelsea an FA Cup final win over Liverpool and then to a first Champions League triumph with victory over Bayern Munich when he was appointed manager on a permanent basis in June. <br /><br />Strikers Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou have departed Stamford Bridge in the close season with Eden Hazard, Marko Marin and Oscar arriving as Di Matteo looks to mount a title challenge. <br /><br />“All the players are looking forward to finally starting. Our aspiration is to do better than last season in the Premier League,” he said. <br /><br />“I still believe Manchester City is the favourite. They haven’t lost any key players, but (Robin) Van Persie is a good signing for (Manchester) United. “We have to try and catch up with the Manchester teams. The gap last season was big so our aim is to catch them up.”</p>