Di Matteo last week declined to reveal whether he was still in contact with the sacked Villas-Boas and he has decided to be similarly tight-lipped about whether he had tried to exploit the former manager's knowledge of Portuguese football ahead of Tuesday's first leg in Lisbon.

He said: "I'd like to keep that private and confidential."

Were the pair in touch, it would almost be remiss of Di Matteo not to draw on Villas-Boas' knowledge of Benfica, who were second best to the 34-year-old's all-conquering Porto side for virtually the whole of last season.

But Di Matteo said: "I'm well-documented about Benfica myself.

"I've seen them many, many times and I have a lot of information."

However, the Italian did admit it was an advantage having Ramires and David Luiz in his squad, both of whom were Benfica players 18 months ago.

The former Chelsea and Lazio midfielder said: "They are looking forward to going back and it can help. They know the atmosphere and the team.

"I remember having that same situation when I played against Lazio. You can give a lot of information to your team-mates."

Di Matteo has been almost religious in his refusal to reveal whether he wants to succeed Villas-Boas full-time.

Chelsea's last two Barclays Premier League results, which have seen them slip five points adrift of the top four, have seriously damaged any ambitions he may have.

But surely winning the Champions League - the Holy Grail since Roman Abramovich bought the club almost nine years ago - would make Di Matteo's coronation a foregone conclusion, especially with Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho arguably out of reach?

"That's not my mindset," Di Matteo said.

"Being the manager is not a question that is due to be asked right now - I have too many things in my mind.

"I'm just doing my best for this club and these players and that's all.

"I have faith in the club that they will make the right decisions for the future of the club - because they are bigger than any coach, manager or player."

He added: "I have not thought at all about being the one who wins Chelsea the Champions League.

"I do dream but not only about football - I dream about other stuff as well. But let's not go into details!"

If Di Matteo was looking to avoid veering into embarrassing territory, it may be because of the teasing he suffered for his post-match celebrations after Chelsea's historic last-16 triumph against Napoli.

The 41-year-old was unable to contain himself, bounding on to the pitch and bear-hugging everyone in sight before slipping over in front of millions watching around the world.

He said: "My celebrations after Napoli were just very instinctive. It showed what this means to me and I was happy for the players.

"They had been getting a lot of stick and so I was happy to see them express themselves in the Champions League."

Indeed, before Villas-Boas' sacking, the Blues were in danger of suffering their worst season of the Abramovich era.

"We are trying very hard to prove everybody wrong that wrote us off," said Di Matteo, whose decision to flood his side with veterans against Napoli paid off spectacularly.

He said: "The experience factor does help you. If you are used to playing certain games over the year, it helps."

The same could be said for management but in becoming only the fourth man to mastermind a comeback from a two-goal first-leg deficit in Champions League history, Di Matteo made a mockery of his rookie tag two and a half weeks ago.

He also ensured England maintained its record of having at least one quarter-finalist every year since 1997.

That is still nothing to be proud of for a nation that recently took all four of its representatives reaching the last eight for granted.

Reiterating that qualifying for next year's competition was still his priority, Di Matteo said: "I am surprised to be the only English team left because it has not happened very often.

"English teams usually do well. We are the only team left though so we can be proud - you can say that loud!"