Benitez says he calls the shots at Chelsea not Abramovich

Benitez, aware that he is likely to be in for a rocky ride on Sunday afternoon - and who has not yet decided whether to risk the wrath of the Blues fans opposed to his appointment by appearing on the pitch before kick-off - was adamant, though, that he will call all the on-field shots.

He added: “I’ve had 26 years in charge of clubs and I can guarantee I’ve had a lot of different owners, presidents and chairmen.

“If you have confidence in yourself and explain yourself, everyone can understand.

“My impression with him (Abramovich) is he’s a nice person. You can talk with him. He understands.

“He likes to see you have a clear idea: 'I think it’s ‘white’ because of this or that, or this is ‘black’ because of this or that.'

“When we had dinner it was interesting as we were talking about everything. He knows my ideas about zonal marking, and he knows why [Benitez prefers it].

“We both spoke. Normally I talk too much.

"The priority of the owner is whether I’m a good manager, a good coach, if the players understand me, if we’ll be a winning team. He was very clear with that. He’s happy with the things I’ve said.”

Those things, it seems, are a promise that Benitez will unlock Torres’ scoring instincts and impose defensive discipline on "PlayStation" defender David Luiz - and a team that has not kept a clean sheet in 10 games.

Benitez has now spoken to the majority of the club's senior professionals, including injured skipper John Terry - described as “a winner, like me” by the Spaniard.

He will gradually introduce all his ideas, including zonal defending rather than man-marking - a system which was a disaster for Chelsea when they tried it under then-boss Luiz Felipe Scolari four years ago.

Getting Torres scoring, though, is the prime directive.

“Fernando is trying his best, like the others,” said Benitez, who managed his countryman at Anfield. “He was fine. He knows what I want and he is trying to do this.

“At Liverpool, the pace of Steven Gerrard’s passes was very good and Fernando could take advantage.