Roberto Di Matteo looking sharp at Villa

Yet the man charged with getting the club back into the top flight is more than prepared to get his hands dirty, four years on from leading Chelsea to Champions League glory.

It will be Burton rather than Barcelona proving the challenge to Di Matteo on his return to English football – not that the Italian isn't ready to meet it.

He said: "I am looking forward to playing against these teams and other teams. "When you are a football manager it doesn't matter who you play or manage, it's excitement and the adrenaline you get. They are going to be tough games."

The Championship is not a new experience for Di Matteo, who will be defending a perfect record having led Albion to promotion during his only previous season in the second tier.

Yet the Italian is astute enough to know the division has changed considerably in the six years since that triumph.

He said: "It is harder every year,. It trickles down from the Premier League, if that gets stronger the Championship gets stronger as well.

"It is going to be hard, absolutely, you need to get the right mentality into the players and the group."

Uniting the dressing room will be among the first tasks for the new manager after a season in which Villa were frequently as big a shambles off the field than they were on it.

Publicly, at least, Di Matteo was keen to make clear he will not make any decisions on existing members of the squad.

It come until they have returned to pre-season, but he hinted he already has a strong idea of the changes he wants to make.

He said: "I know what we need, what I think we need and we will work to get that right.

"At Albion we had a very good group, a united group which knew what it took to be competitive and challenge in the Championship.

"A lot of these players do not have the experience so I am looking for personnel that have the edge and have the knowledge of the Championship as well.

"I am certainly looking to retain the people who are ready and want to be here and see the project as an exciting one."

In recent years the post of Villa manager has not been kind to its incumbents yet Di Matteo insists he did not hesitate in accepting it after speaking to new owner Tony Xia.

He is supportive too of the club's intention to appoint a technical director, having worked under a similar system at Albion to significant success.

He said; "Right now I am going to make the decisions of the players coming in and out, but one of the jobs is to put a structure in.

"We need to have a process where we go through to acquire players. It's not just going to be the manager saying 'I want this guy.'

"It has to be done properly and professionally so we limit the risk of signing players who might not work for the club."

Xia has talked about winning the European Cup within the next decade, an ambition made even more remarkable in light of the club's current predicament.

Yet Di Matteo, while focused on the immediate task in hand, believes the past few weeks should be seen as a fresh start.

He said: "Look at the facilities of the club, the history, the infrastructure and the fan-base and everything.

"If we manage to get the results we want we can certainly bring some excitement back to Villa Park. The ideas, his (Xia's) plans and the project he has for the club appeals to me."