Sport : Football

GOURLAY KEEPS QUIET ON DI MATTEO

6th May 2012, 12:44pm

Di Matteo: No decision on his future

Di Matteo: No decision on his future

Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay gave nothing away about Roberto Di Matteo's future after watching the caretaker manager lead the club to FA Cup glory.

But he revealed the Blues had still not given up hope of persuading Wembley hero Didier Drogba to sign a new contract at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea captain John Terry said on Friday he hoped beating Liverpool would help Di Matteo land the manager's job full-time.

Gourlay has been adamant no decision would be taken until after the Champions League final on May 19 and he said after the 2-1 triumph: "I'm not going to change my mind on what I've said.

"We've just got to take - the cliched - one game at a time. That's honestly the way that we've treated things.

"We've got three games left, we'll see how we finish.

"Hopefully, we can take this forward now to Munich and make us all proud and then we'll take things from there."

Gourlay hailed the extraordinary turnaround Di Matteo had masterminded since replacing the sacked Andre Villas-Boas two months earlier.

"He's done very well since we brought him in as the interim manager and I think the players have responded particularly well as well, so there's been a good team effort," Gourlay said.

"When you look back and where we've got to, I think we've come a long way."

Drogba made history by becoming the first man to score in four FA Cup finals.

The striker appeared certain to leave Chelsea when his contract expires this summer after rejecting a one-year extension.

Gourlay said: "We're always talking to Didier.

"Didier loves Chelsea and we love Didier and we'll continue to have the conversations and we'll see where that goes."

Drogba, 34, had been demanding a two-year deal and asked if there was any wriggle room on either side, Gourlay added: "I don't want to go into contractual things. It's not right for me to do that."

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