London: With the trials and tribulations of a weekend in turmoil behind them, Chelsea struck back in a confident outing against Birmingham in the FA Cup and blessed interim manager Roberto Di Matteo with a winning start, but the fans also had their say and it's not just the Italian's name on their lips.
It was always going to be interesting to see how the Blues bounced back from yet another loss in the Premier League, this time to plucky West Brom, as well as losing their eighth manager in eight years, with Andre Villas-Boas another lamb to the Roman Abramovich slaughter.
Installing former Chelsea hero Di Matteo in the Portugues' place until the end of the season came as a surprise, the Russian dropping the talented young Villas-Boas, who had cut his teeth to successful effect in his home country, for a man who failed to complete two seasons in charge of the Baggies.
Despite this, the Stamford Bridge faithful seemed smitten with the Swiss-born coach's appointment and acted as though the 41-year-old was still rushing through the midfield, with collective chanting of 'There's only one Di Matteo' at various intervals during the night.
There was also another name on the lips of the visiting support, however, one that instantly evokes a Chelsea fan's memory of finer days that glistened with silverware, one that brings back the feeling of belief. One Jose Mourinho.
The Real Madrid man is certainly a big favourite to take over from Di Matteo in the summer and the Chelsea fans have made their billionaire owner’s job an easy one with the name of the Blues legend echoing around St. Andrew's: 'Come back Mourinho.'
Such an appointment would definitely be plausible, with Los Blancos all but tying up La Liga and finally roping in the dominance of Barcelona, the Portuguese's mission is almost complete in Spain and he will be ready to ponder his next big challenge.
However, such love wasn't mirrored for the role's other high-key candidate, former Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez, as the Chelsea fans struck up vitriolic chants towards the Spaniard making the message clear to Abramovich with one name to strike off his shortlist.
On the pitch meanwhile, the weekend's hangover effect from the loss of their manager looked to still be affecting the players, with a refreshed line-up featuring fringe players struggling to overcome Birmingham's counter-attacking tactics as much of the 'old guard' warmed the bench.
The Blues' central defensive partnership of David Luiz and Gary Cahill also seemed unable to deal with the goliath that is Nikola Zigic.
The second half saw a revived set of individuals however, as the Blues finally got into gear and opened the scoring through the increasingly impressive Juan Mata, albeit in chaotic fashion, scrambling the ball in after an untidy tussle in front of Colin Doyle's net.
Fernando Torres put in another barren appearance, with the Spaniard’s solitary positive contribution coming from a fall in the Birmingham area to earn Chelsea a penalty, one that Mata subsequently had saved magnificently by the Irishman between the sticks.
Post-match, Di Matteo revealed his delight in seeing the players bounce back from a trying period, but admitted they must all share the blame for the club's shocking form of late that has seen just three wins from 10 fixtures.
The temporary boss also had words for the departed Villas-Boas, stating that the team had lost a 'great man' through his dismissal. Although Di Matteo refused to rule himself out of taking the job permanently, he would have to admit he would be going up against stern competition for the vacancy.
But, when it comes down to it, you don't have to look far to see who the fans really want restored in the Chelsea hot-seat.
Shouts rung out once more over the final whistle in Birmingham of 'There's only one Di Matteo' - that may be the case, but he's not The Special One.
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