What Roberto Di Matteo's Hiring Means for Chelsea's Future

With Roberto Di Matteo in charge, Chelsea have a foundation for the future.

Last summer, Andre Villas-Boas came to Stamford Bridge to change the culture. Rather than slowly work the old guard out of the lineup, he made drastic changes immediately, which angered the veterans.

After a rough 256 days, two hours, 17 minutes and 16 seconds (via "Has Andre Villas-Boas Been Sacked Yet?), AVB was gone and seemingly, so was Chelsea's season.

Then Di Matteo came in.

The former West Bromwich Albion coach only had a six-month managing stint in the Premier League. However, in that short time, he was named manager of the month (September 2010), which Villas-Boas never was. He wasn't given much leeway at West Brom, and he didn't have a margin for error when he arrived at Chelsea

Somehow, the former Chelsea midfielder turned things around as the interim manager. He won match after match. Suddenly, Chelsea was lifting trophies, including one from the Champions League.

Following such a successful run, owner Roman Abramovich had no choice but to hire Di Matteo. The 42-year-old had proven his worth, and it was clear that Chelsea could be successful with him in charge.

The biggest reason Chelsea will sustain success with Di Matteo running the show is stability. Since Abramovich took over the club in 2003, the Blues have had nine managers, including Di Matteo.

Yikes.

With a Champions League trophy on the shelf, let's hope Abramovich doesn't rule with such an iron fist. Chelsea may face a few setbacks; the club just has to overcome them rather than blaming the manager.

The club needs to unify under one manager. If the club sticks by Di Matteo, he won't let them down.

Moreover, if he continues to deal with his players as well as he did when he was the interim manager, Chelsea will be just fine. With new players, the culture will change, but good managers can deal with all kinds of personalities.

Di Matteo signed a two-year contract, but it would behoove the club to keep him around for longer than that. The team has a young core, and every sign points to a decade of success. It's just a matter of Di Matteo being a calming presence.

The great European clubs all have a great manager. The Blues hope that Di Matteo is theirs. If he continues to be successful, he won't be going anywhere soon.

As long as Di Matteo is around, Chelsea's future will look bright and most importantly, stable.