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Amid freezing rain, snow, and a biting wind off the waters of the Humber, combined with a determined home side pushing hard for promotion, this presented all the makings of a difficult evening’s task for Chelsea.

"We could have scored more but Hull are a strong team and it was a difficult tie; I am delighted with the display," he said. "Hull City is very special to me so it was great to get a positive welcome from the fans of supporters. The attitude of the lads was excellent."

The Rosenior holds this place dear to him, given part of his family hail from Hull and his successful spell in management of the Tigers. His happy connection continued with a magnificent display from his squad, who ultimately sauntered into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Deadly Finishing Seals Comprehensive Win

Three days removed from letting slip a 2-0 lead in the Premier League, there was a sniff of fragility about them going into this potentially tricky cup clash. The packed home crowd evidently felt it too, but Rosenior's men navigated the task perfectly.

The manager made alterations, enacting multiple of them to his XI. The tie could and maybe ought to have been settled long before it eventually was, with two the Brazilian winger and Liam Delap at fault for missing excellent opportunities to put their side in front in the opening period.

However, luckily for the away team, Pedro Neto was in a much more ruthless frame of mind. He broke the deadlock with a spectacular long-range effort, which proved to be the catalyst for Chelsea to assume command of proceedings. By the final whistle, they had 4 goals, with Neto scoring a trio of them for a brilliant three-goal haul.

Delap's Response and Impact

Hull displayed great fight all game, but the better chances consistently fell to the visitors. Estêvão should have broken the scoring when he rounded keeper Dillon Phillips before unbelievably shooting over. Delap then had a comparable horror moment in front of goal against his former club.

He deflected a the goalkeeper's kick which bounced off the crossbar, and he started to celebrate believing the ball had gone over the line. It hadn’t, and by the time he understood, Hull's backline had reacted to clear the threat.

The player had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was immensely instrumental from that point onward, providing 3 key passes. The opening was for the first goal as his pass teed up his teammate to finish from outside the box. Shortly after the restart, it was 2-0 as the forward's corner went straight in under the keeper's legs.

Contest Put Beyond Doubt and Attention Shifts

Seven minutes after the second, the match was effectively ended as a dazzling dribble from the forward teed up Estêvão to slide into an unguarded goal. The hat-trick hero then finished his treble as Delap again delivered the decisive pass for the striker to calmly convert by a helpless Phillips.

By that stage, the work Hull had put in in the opening thirty minutes had long since forgotten. Their priority must now return to securing a return to the Premier League under their manager, who rested a number of key individuals with that aim in mind.

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

There was plenty of endeavour to the end, and they almost got a consolation when a substitute hit a the upright in stoppage time. But this was Chelsea’s evening, and another positive stride for their new manager at a place he is familiar with intimately.

Cup Omens Look Good

The result resulted in an in the end straightforward night's performance, and the cup competition signs are good from here for Chelsea. They have played Hull on three other times in this competition in the past ten years and on each occasion, they have progressed to reach the final. There is still done in that respect, but this was another significant positive for Rosenior.