Benitez tiptoes onto Chelsea tightrope

Freshly appointed as Chelsea's latest interim coach, Rafael Benitez could be forgiven for wondering whether he has accepted a poisoned chalice.

The dismissal of Roberto Di Matteo on Wednesday means eight coaches have now been and gone during the nine-year tenure of trigger-happy owner Roman Abramovich.

Benitez, 52, arrives with a rich pedigree, albeit almost two years since his last managerial role at Inter Milan, but in order to land the job full time, he must contend with Abramovich's notorious impatience.