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Cup win can land Di Matteo the job - Terry

Roberto Di Matteo has had a big influence since being installed as interim boss at Chelsea © PA Photos

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John Terry says winning the FA Cup will put Roberto Di Matteo "in a very good position" to land the Chelsea manager's job on a full-time basis, adding it would be a "bonus" if the club can beat Liverpool to make sure the Italian stays on at the helm.

Di Matteo, who became interim boss exactly two months ago, is busy readying his squad for Saturday's FA Cup final with Liverpool at Wembley.

It remains to be seen whether owner Roman Abramovich will give the former Blues player the reins permanently, although his chances of landing the role for the foreseeable future will be greatly enhanced if he can lead Chelsea to glory at the weekend, as well as in the Champions League final against Bayern Munich later this month.

"It will do [his chances] no harm at all," Terry told Sky Sports News. "He's obviously done very well to get us where we are today and winning it [the FA Cup] will put himself in a very good position. But he's not thinking of that at the moment, he's not letting any players get distracted.

"He's very passionate and he's Chelsea through and through and that's certainly rubbed off on the players. If we can do it and an added bonus is that Robbie gets the job at the end then that'll be great."

Terry continued to hail Di Matteo's impact since taking charge, calling his former Stamford Bridge team-mate a "revelation".

"He shows that he cares and the passion shows in the team meetings and on the training field when things don't go well," Terry said. "He always refers back to the way he cares about this football club, the relationship he has with the fans as well.

"He's got a great rapport with the fans, a great understanding with the players. He's communicating with everyone and things have gone very well for us. So he deserves a huge amount of credit for that."

When asked how much winning the FA Cup can help the rest of Chelsea's season, the skipper said: "It's obviously the one before the big Champions League one. It's disappointing we didn't win the other night [against Newcastle] to put us in a better position in the league but to be in the two finals we're in we're delighted. We've certainly got the squad of players and the form at the moment to go on and lift the trophy."

Chelsea's affinity for the FA Cup is obvious: this will be their fourth final in six years, having won the previous three, and Terry says it is the prestigious nature of the competition that keeps the players hungry for more success.

"The likes of Didier [Drogba] come into England and realise the FA Cup is a huge thing. We're very lucky to have had a good manager and a good set of players to send us on our way many years ago. To have that hunger and desire to keep winning it. You look at Manchester United and [Paul] Scholes, [Ryan] Giggs and [Gary] Neville and the hunger to keep winning things, and when you get a taste of it you want to be in the thick of things at the end of the season, which we are."

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