Carlo Ancelotti insists he will keep Chelsea in the 4-4-2 formation which worked to such devastating effect during the pre-season tour.

After testing the formation with a four-wins-out-of-four success rate over in the US, Ancelotti is adamant the diamond is the system he will take into the 2009/10 Barclays Premier League season. And it's no wonder, with the rich choice of talents available to the Italian.

'Chelsea can play Lampard, Deco and also we can play Joe Cole, he has the quality to play behind the striker and maybe also Kalou.

'Lampard can play on the left and he can play offensive midfielder. I want to try this because I like games where he is in this position.

'The other players can play in the diamond in a different role, they can play up front or they can play behind the striker, so I want to play with the diamond.'

With the start of the season only a week away, our manager was keen to express his main target for the campaign, which is to win as much as possible, but especially the Barclays Premier League and Champions League.

And, as well as introducing a new system to the Blues, Ancelotti also wants to put his stamp on the side before we face Manchester United in the Community Shield.

'The most important thing to win is the Premier League and the Champions League.

'To win these would be a success, but we also need to have an identity with the team and I think we are going the right way about doing this. In the last games I saw some very good ideas coming from the players.'

It can sometimes take time for a side to reap rewards following a change of leadership, but Ancelotti's pre-season campaign proves his ability as a manager, and he has no doubts about his best quality.

'My patience is my biggest strength,' explained the Champions-League winning coach, 'although I also love football and I think this is the biggest point.

'I love the tactics, the play, and I love finding solutions and trying new solutions.

'But the most important thing is to have a team who play with a clear idea of how they need to play. So we prepare the training with this objective.'

It's easy to understand where Ancelotti's patience comes from. Growing up as a farmer's son in the beautiful region of Reggiolo in Northern Italy, as a young adult he would often return home to help with the family business, despite being an international footballer.

With such a sound grounding and picturesque upbringing, it's no wonder Ancelotti is a calm person.

'I am very close to the first years of my life,' he reminisced. 'My father was not a rich man, he worked very hard throughout the years but I lived well in the first years of my life.

'I had no problems, I lived in a very good place and I had very good relationships with my friends, I remember this very well.'

'These days I like to stay near a big city. I lived for eight years in Rome, but I stayed near Rome, not in the centre, and the same in Milan, I like to have land around me. I don't like traffic, I like to stay quiet.

'I love football, every day, every hour, but there is a moment when I have to think about other things. For me, to stay in farming is a good thing because you can keep calm and relaxed.'

Relationships are very important to a tranquil man like Ancelotti, which is why he is so intent on being his real self in front of the players.

'I want to be myself with my players, I have my character and I want to keep this character around my players. I want to be true.

'If I have an idea of how to play, I put this idea to the players and they go out on the pitch and play the way I want. That is not easy to do and this is why I need a good relationship them.

'All this will help us win a trophy this season, which is very possible.

'I don't like to say I will win, but I have a good feeling. It is better to think about winning than to think about losing.'