ROBERTO Di Matteo has admitted to feeling hugely dismayed that Chelsea's pleas to bring forward next month's FA Cup tie with Tottenham have fallen on deaf ears.

The Blues asked the FA to consider switching the Wembley clash with Spurs to Friday, April 13, to give them more time to prepare for a potential Champions league semi-final on Wednesday 18 th .

But with Liverpool refusing to play on Sunday 15 th in their semi-final with Everton – the anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster – and with TV rights-holders determined to keep prime-time slots, Chelsea have been allocated a 6pm kick-off on the Sunday.

It is the worst possible scenario for the Blues and Di Matteo is unimpressed.

“Of course, we have to qualify for the [Champions League] semi-final first,” said Chelsea's interim coach. “On the other hand, we've tried to communicate with the FA, and we've co-operated with the FA, and it's disappointing, I would say, that common sense hasn't prevailed.

“We've given them our point of view, but it seems that it's not really been taken into consideration.

"I probably would have been happy with a Friday night kick-off.”

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