ROBERTO Di Matteo offered his now-familiar dead bat on the subject of remaining in the Chelsea hot-seat after his astonishing personal triumph this season.
He would not even confirm he wants the job full time, preferring to deflect attention onto his players and to proclaim his need for a 'good holiday.'
But that did not stop the interim coach – as he has been for the past three months - admitting he was on cloud nine after Chelsea landed the Champions League title for the first time.
“It feels great I have to say,” he said in a 1am press conference following his team's victory in a penalty shoot out at the Allianz Arena.
“You think about it when you are watching at home and see other people winning it and I'm very pleased for the players. They worked so hard over many years to achieve this objective.
“Four years ago, they had a very painful experience. I felt sorry for John Terry then. It would have been like a film script if he had scored the winning goal and it was a very painful for him and the club. Tonight I know how Bayern must feel, because losing on penalties is very harsh.”
Reflecting on his team's qualities and their extraordinary turn-around in fortune in the past few months, Di Matteo said: “Football is sometimes unpredictable and crazy. I don't think anyone could have predicted what happened in these last three months.
“We've had a very difficult season and to finish off like this is an incredible achievement by this team.
“The heart and the passion that these players have shown in this competition has been immense. The desire and motivation of the players showed again tonight.
“It's the first time we've won this competition and it's very difficult to win it. The club went very close four years ago and I think a lot of the players thought 'OK we'll qualify again for a final, but it didn't come until 2012. It's difficult to win and you have to take your chance when it comes.”
The Italian added: “This win makes a huge difference to the future of our club. It was crucial for us to be involved again in the Champions League next season and winning tonight qualifies us, so it's a double whammy really in a positive sense.”
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