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Against a backdrop of sleet, snow, and a biting wind off the waters of the Humber Estuary, combined with a resolute Hull City side pushing hard for promotion, this presented all the makings of a challenging night's work for the visitors.

"We could have added to our tally but Hull are a strong team and it was a difficult fixture; I’m very pleased with the performance," the manager stated. "This club means a lot to me so it was nice to get a good reception from the fans of fans. The attitude of the lads was excellent."

Liam Chelsea manager has this place dear to him, considering part of his relatives are from Hull and his enjoyable spell in management of the Tigers. His happy association continued with a magnificent display from his squad, who in the end sauntered into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Clinical Finishing Seals Comfortable Victory

Seventy-two hours removed from letting slip a two-goal advantage in the league, there was a sniff of fragility about them going into this intriguing tie. The capacity home crowd clearly sensed it too, but the London side navigated the task perfectly.

The manager rang the changes, making seven of them to his XI. The tie could and perhaps ought to have been decided long before it actually was, with two the Brazilian winger and Liam Delap guilty of missing excellent chances to put Chelsea ahead in the opening period.

However, luckily for the visitors, Pedro Neto was in a much more clinical frame of mind. He broke the scoring with a spectacular distance strike, which acted as the spark for Chelsea to assume control of the match. By full time, they had four, with Neto netting three of them for a superb hat-trick.

Delap's Redemption and Influence

The home side displayed great spirit all game, but the better chances always fell Chelsea’s way. Estêvão should have broken the scoring when he rounded goalkeeper Dillon Phillips before unbelievably firing over. Delap then had a comparable nightmare moment in front of goal against his former club.

He deflected a the goalkeeper's clearance which came off the bar, and he began to celebrate thinking the ball had crossed the line. It had not, and by the time he understood, Hull's defenders had reacted to clear the threat.

The player had his head in his hands after that miss, but he was immensely influential from there on out, registering three key passes. The first was for the first goal as his through ball teed up Neto to score from outside the box. Shortly after the restart, it was two as the forward's set-piece went straight in through Phillips's legs.

Contest Put Beyond Doubt and Attention Turns

Seven minutes after the second goal, the match was put beyond doubt as a dazzling run from Delap laid on his teammate to tap into an empty net. The hat-trick hero then completed his treble as Delap once again played the crucial pass for the striker to coolly convert past a helpless Phillips.

At that point, the effort Hull had done in the opening half-hour had been erased. Their priority must now return to securing a return to the top division under Sergej Jakirovic, who rested a number of first-choice players with that goal in mind.

"In my opinion we deserved at least one goal but if we play like this we will be in a very good position in the Championship," he said. "Never surrender, maybe in the upcoming matches this can be a good example of how we should play."

There was great effort to the final whistle, and they almost claimed a consolation when Lewis Koumas hit a post in stoppage time. But this was the Blues' evening, and another positive step forward for their new manager at a stadium he is familiar with very well.

Cup Omens Look Good

The result made for an ultimately straightforward night's work, and the FA Cup-shaped signs are positive from here for Chelsea. They have played Hull on three previous times in this competition in the last decade and every single time, they have progressed to reach the final. There is still work in that respect, but this was another huge positive for the Chelsea boss.