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Amid freezing rain, flurries, and a swirling wind from the banks of the Humber, alongside a determined home side pushing hard for a top-flight place, this presented all the ingredients of a difficult evening’s task for the visitors.

"We could have added to our tally but Hull are a strong team and it was a difficult fixture; I am very pleased with the display," the manager stated. "This club is very special to me so it was great to get a good reception from the fans of supporters. The attitude of the players was excellent."

Liam Rosenior holds this place dear to him, given part of his family are from Hull and his successful spell in management of the Championship club. His happy association continued with a commanding display from his team, who ultimately strolled into the fifth round of the famous old competition.

Clinical Edge Secures Comprehensive Win

Seventy-two hours after surrendering a two-goal advantage in the Premier League, there was a sniff of vulnerability about Chelsea going into this potentially tricky tie. The capacity home support evidently sensed it too, but the London side handled the task with ease.

The manager made alterations, making multiple of them to his XI. The tie could and perhaps ought to have been settled earlier than it actually was, with both the Brazilian winger and the forward at fault for spurning glorious chances to put Chelsea in front in the opening period.

But, fortunately for the away team, Pedro Neto was in a far more ruthless mood. He opened the scoring with a marvellous long-range strike, which proved to be the spark for Chelsea to assume command of the match. By full time, they had four, with the forward scoring three of them for a superb three-goal haul.

The Forward's Redemption and Impact

The home side displayed plenty of spirit throughout, but the clearer chances consistently came to the visitors. Estêvão should have broken the scoring when he rounded keeper the Hull stopper before unbelievably shooting over. The striker then had a similar horror incident in front of goal against his former club.

He blocked a Phillips's kick which bounced off the crossbar, and Delap started to celebrate thinking the ball had crossed the line. It had not, and by the time he realised, Hull's backline had reacted to clear the threat.

The player had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was hugely instrumental from there on out, registering three key passes. The first was for the opening goal as his pass teed up his teammate to score from outside the box. Six minutes after the second half began, it was two as Neto's corner went straight in through the keeper's legs.

Contest Sealed and Focus Turns

Seven minutes after Neto’s second goal, the tie was effectively ended as a dazzling run from the forward laid on his teammate to slide into an unguarded goal. The hat-trick hero then finished his hat-trick as Delap again delivered the crucial pass for the striker to coolly slot by a stranded Phillips.

At that point, the effort Hull had done in the opening half-hour had long since forgotten. Their priority must now switch back to securing a return to the Premier League under their manager, who rested a number of key players with that goal in mind.

"I think we deserved at least one goal but if we play like this we will be in a very good situation in the league," he said. "Never surrender, maybe in the next matches this can be a positive lesson of how we must play."

Hull showed plenty of endeavour to the end, and they nearly claimed a consolation when Lewis Koumas hit a the upright in stoppage time. But this was Chelsea’s evening, and another positive step forward for their recently-appointed head coach at a place he is familiar with very well.

Cup Omens Are Good

That resulted in an in the end straightforward night's performance, and the cup competition signs are good from here for Chelsea. They have faced Hull on three previous occasions in this competition in the last decade and on each occasion, they have progressed to reach the showpiece. There is still work in that respect, but this was another huge positive for Rosenior.