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Benitez confident he can work with 'nice' Abramovich

Rafael Benitez met Roman Abramovich on Thursday evening © PA Photos

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Interim Chelsea manager Rafa Benitez believes Roman Abramovich is a "nice person", after meeting him for the first time on Thursday.

Benitez spent "two or three hours" with the Chelsea owner on Thursday evening, after being formally unveiled as the club's new owner at a press conference earlier in the day. And he believes the two men will be able to work well together after a productive discussion.

Abramovich has a reputation for not tolerating failure - one underlined by his recent sacking of Roberto Di Matteo - but Benitez believes Abramovich's demands are no different to many of his previous owners and chairmen.

"I've had 26 years in charge of clubs and I can guarantee I've had a lot of different owners, presidents and chairmen," Benitez said. "If you have confidence in yourself and explain yourself, everyone can understand. "My impression with him is he's a nice person. You can talk with him. He understands."

The Spaniard offered an insight into Abramovich's mentality, noting that the billionaire does not like his staff to express doubts or equivocate on issues - but rather make a decision and act upon it.

"He likes to see you have a clear idea: 'I think it is 'white' because of this or that, or this is 'black' because of this or that'," Benitez added. "When we had dinner it was interesting as we were talking about everything. He knows my ideas about zonal marking, and he knows why [I prefer it].

"We both spoke. Normally I talk too much.

"The priority of the owner is whether I'm a good manager, a good coach, if the players understand me, if we'll be a winning team. He was very clear with that. He's happy with the things I've said."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.