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Against a backdrop of sleet, snow, and a biting wind from the waters of the Humber Estuary, combined with a resolute Hull City side fighting for promotion, this presented all the makings of a challenging evening’s work for the visitors.

"We could have scored more but the opposition are a good team and it was a difficult fixture; I am delighted with the display," he said. "This club is very special to me so it was nice to get a good welcome from both sets of fans. The application of the lads was excellent."

The Rosenior has this city dear to him, given part of his family hail from Hull and his enjoyable period in management of the Championship club. This happy association was extended with a commanding display from his squad, who in the end sauntered into the next round of the famous old competition.

Deadly Finishing Seals Comprehensive Victory

Three days removed from letting slip a two-goal advantage in the league, there was a sniff of fragility about them going into this potentially tricky tie. The packed home crowd evidently sensed it too, but the London side navigated the task with ease.

Rosenior made alterations, enacting seven of them to his XI. The tie could and perhaps should have been decided earlier than it eventually was, with two the Brazilian winger and Liam Delap guilty of spurning glorious opportunities to put Chelsea ahead in the opening period.

But, luckily for the visitors, their Portuguese attacker was in a much more clinical mood. He broke the scoring with a spectacular long-range effort, which proved to be the spark for Chelsea to assume command of the match. By the final whistle, they had 4 goals, with Neto netting three of them for a superb three-goal haul.

The Forward's Response and Impact

Hull showed plenty of spirit throughout, but the better chances consistently fell Chelsea’s way. The winger should have opened the deadlock when he rounded keeper Dillon Phillips before inexplicably shooting over. The striker then had a comparable nightmare moment in front of goal against his former club.

He deflected a the goalkeeper's clearance which came back from the bar, and Delap started to celebrate thinking the ball had gone over the line. It had not, and by the time he understood, Hull's backline had responded to avert the threat.

The player had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was hugely instrumental from that point onward, registering three assists. The opening was for the first goal as his through ball teed up his teammate to score from outside the box. Six minutes after the restart, it was two as Neto's set-piece went straight in under the keeper's legs.

Tie Sealed and Attention Turns

Seven minutes after the second, the tie was put beyond doubt as a magnificent dribble from Delap teed up his teammate to slide into an empty net. The hat-trick hero then completed his treble as the provider once again played the crucial ball for the attacker to calmly convert past a helpless goalkeeper.

By that stage, the effort Hull had put in in the opening thirty minutes had been forgotten. Their priority must now return to securing a return to the top division under their manager, who rested a number of first-choice individuals with that aim in mind.

"I think we earned at least one goal but if we perform like this we will be in a strong position in the Championship," the Hull manager commented. "Never surrender, maybe in the next matches this can be a good example of how we should play."

Hull showed great endeavour to the end, and they almost claimed a consolation when a substitute struck a post in stoppage time. But this was Chelsea’s evening, and another positive step forward for their recently-appointed head coach at a stadium he knows very well.

FA Cup Omens Look Promising

The result made for an ultimately routine evening’s work, and the FA Cup-shaped omens are positive from here for the winners. They have played Hull on three previous times in this tournament in the last decade and on each occasion, they have gone on to reach the showpiece. There is still done in that regard, but this was another significant positive for the Chelsea boss.