Chelsea's Salomon Kalou has claimed that caretaker manager Roberto Di Matteo has restored unity to the team.

The Ivory Coast winger feared that he had played his final game for the Blues under previous coach Andre Villas-Boas, but has been given renewed hope of establishing himself in the side.

"Robbie has come in as the manager and given everyone the opportunity to show that they want to play for the club," The Sun quotes the forward as saying.

"That is how you get everyone behind you and get the team to work together. We have a lot of big games coming up and there is more opportunity for everyone."

Kalou scored the decisive goal in Chelsea's 1-0 victory over Benfica in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday night.

The player has a final three months renaming on his contract before becoming a free agent.