The Italian coach guided AC Milan to Serie A success in 2004 but the quality of the opposition in the English top flight promises to provide him with a lot more obstacles.

Ancelotti will take charge of his first match at Stamford Bridge when the Blues face Hull City in the lunchtime kick-off tomorrow.

Ancelotti remains unbeaten since taking over from interim coach Guus Hiddink but the pre-season niceties will be dispensed when the real action gets under way.

Chelsea will face a gritty Hull side who will be determined to go one better than the goalless draw they achieved at the Bridge last season.

That competitive spirit inside the Premier League caught out former boss Luiz Felipe Scolari to such an extent that he was sacked last February.

Ancelotti insists he is "not stepping into the dark" as he prepares for his first game in the English league and is equally realistic when it comes to his appraisal of the task that lies ahead.

"This is my first season outside Italy so it is a bit different, but I want to do well with my team," said Ancelotti. "I am happy, not afraid. There's no tension or pressure.

"It is new but not the unknown. I'm not in the dark. I know my team very well. I appreciate the squad over the month I've had here, and the quality of this team.

"The ambition is to remain competitive until the end of the season in all the competitions - in the FA Cup, the Premiership and the Champions League.

"We want to arrive well in March and April in all the competitions. If we have strength and the right mental attitude, we can win at the end.

"In England the championship is more competitive because, in Italy, three or four teams can win. Here I think that more teams can win the league.

"To win a season in England is not easy for any team. It's not easy for Chelsea, Liverpool or Manchester United, and also for Arsenal.

"To win here is very difficult. It's a difficult start tomorrow. We'll have to overcome difficulties in every game.

"We have to work to improve because the situation on the pitch has to be natural. Now it's not natural because some things are new for the players.

"But, with work, it will become automatic. We have to put continuity into the games. That wasn't the case in the last game - some periods of the game were very good, others not. We need to put continuity on the pitch."

Ancelotti has gathered inner resilience from the recent flurry of contract activity at Stamford Bridge.

Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba and defender Michael Mancienne - who has now joined Wolves on loan - have both signed new deals recently and the Italian now wants Ashley and Joe Cole to follow suit.

"I am happy that Didier signed a new contract because he is a very important player for this team, not only for now but for the future," said Ancelotti.

"He's a very important striker who did very well for the team and will do very well for the team.

"We spoke with Mancienne and we found a right solution for him because he needs to play games. He will be a Chelsea player for the future.

"Didier is a top striker. I don't know in the standings, but he is a top striker like Fernando Torres and Emmanuel Adebayor.

"I'm hopeful that Ashley and Joe will stay with us. For sure. This is the opinion of the club."