Gianfranco Zola is pleased with his first months back at Chelsea as Maurizio Sarri's assistant.

Zola played for Chelsea for seven seasons until 2003.

"I was very surprised when this opportunity came to me," he admits, "especially considering my last experience with my previous job with Birmingham was very painful for me, so I could not believe it. This was a blessing for me, I am very happy and this is why I am throwing everything I have got into making sure this experience is good.

"The club is different from the one I left without a doubt but nothing remains the same and life is so. Things always evolve and the club from 2003 has evolved a lot and won a lot and I am very pleased for that. Hopefully I am here with Maurizio to help the club develop even more. There are big margins and we are looking forward to making the club even better."

While the assistant is feeling very positive about working alongside our new head coach, Zola is also confident his compatriot is benefitting from their working relationship too.

"I hope I am giving him good support, that is the meaning of me being here because he could do his job without me. I know the Premier League and the players in it and I know the club, so I can give him good support and all my knowledge. That is a valuable thing to do.

"I think it is working very well and I think he likes working with me as much as I like working with him. The road ahead is still long but we are going in the right direction."