Carlo Ancelotti admitted a love for the British weather has helped him settle into a new life in London.

Not a man for tropical climates, our Italian manager says Britain has the perfect temperature to train, and he even enjoys the rain.

'I like the weather,' insisted Ancelotti. 'I don't like the sun, so everyday, with rain and rain, is very good.

'There are fantastic pitches with the rain [in England], because in Italy we had a problem with the pitch if it didn't rain.

'Really, I like this weather, for me it is not a problem. I don't like the hot weather, this is a very good temperature, 20 degrees is very good to work, when you work in 40 degrees it is very difficult.'

Inheriting a fondness for the weather has helped Ancelotti feel comfortable in his new surroundings, but there was another reason for a stress free initiation into English football, the Chelsea squad.

Speaking about transfers, the Champions League winner was keen to express his feelings about the current side, and the benefit of keeping Chelsea players in west London.

'There is an advantage because we have the same group, the same players and they have a very good relationship.

'We bought [Yuri] Zhirkov, [Daniel] Sturridge and [Ross] Turnbull. Zhirkov is a great international player, Sturridge is a very good young player and Turnbull is a goalkeeper and we needed a goalkeeper.

'We will buy a player if it is a necessity, if it is not a necessity then we don't buy, because the players already here are very good.'

But despite such a strong squad, and the obvious confidence he bestows upon his team, Ancelotti understands the Barclays Premier League is the toughest competition in the world, one which anybody can win.

'There is not a favourite team to win the League but it will be very interesting because there are a lot of teams that could win, that are all at the same level as Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool.

'We also have to see Manchester City, they bought very good players and maybe Manchester City can become a very good team.'

For now though, there is only one thing on his mind, the Community Shield. 'I hope that on Sunday people can see a good team that plays well. My objective is that Chelsea play very good football. We work very hard for this and on Sunday we can play a team that will play very well.

'The team started the pre-season very well, with organisation, good mental attitude and a good quality from the players.

'So I am very happy. One month ago I started this adventure and after one month I can say that I stay very well here because I have a good feeling, I feel something special.'