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Amid sleet, snow, and a biting breeze off the banks of the Humber, combined with a resolute home side fighting for a top-flight place, this presented all the ingredients of a challenging night's task for Chelsea.

"We might have added to our tally but the opposition are a good team and it was a difficult fixture; I am very pleased with the performance," he said. "This club is very special to me so it was nice to get a positive welcome from the fans of supporters. The attitude of the players was superb."

The Rosenior has this place dear to him, given part of his family hail from Hull and his successful spell in management of the Championship club. His positive association was extended with a magnificent display from his squad, who in the end strolled into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Clinical Finishing Seals Comprehensive Win

Seventy-two hours removed from surrendering a 2-0 lead in the Premier League, there was a hint of vulnerability about them going into this intriguing cup clash. The packed Hull support evidently felt it too, but Rosenior's men navigated the challenge perfectly.

Rosenior rang the changes, enacting multiple of them to his XI. The tie might and perhaps should have been decided earlier than it actually was, with both the Brazilian winger and the forward at fault for missing glorious opportunities to put their side ahead in the first half.

However, luckily for the away team, Pedro Neto was in a far more ruthless frame of mind. He broke the scoring with a marvellous long-range effort, which proved to be the spark for Chelsea to take control of proceedings. By the final whistle, they had four, with Neto netting a trio of them for a brilliant hat-trick.

The Forward's Response and Influence

The home side displayed great spirit all game, but the clearer chances consistently fell to the visitors. Estêvão should have opened the deadlock when he went past keeper Dillon Phillips before inexplicably firing over. Delap then had a similar nightmare incident in front of goal against his old team.

He deflected a the goalkeeper's kick which came back from the crossbar, and Delap started to run away believing the ball had gone over the line. It had not, and by the time he understood, Hull's backline had reacted to avert the threat.

The player had his head in his hands after that moment, but he was immensely instrumental from that point onward, providing 3 assists. The first was for the opening goal as his pass set up Neto to finish from outside the box. Six minutes after the second half began, it was two as the forward's set-piece went straight in through Phillips's legs.

Contest Put Beyond Doubt and Focus Shifts

Seven minutes after the second goal, the match was put beyond doubt as a magnificent dribble from Delap teed up Estêvão to slide into an empty net. The hat-trick hero then completed his hat-trick as Delap once again played the crucial pass for the striker to calmly convert past a helpless Phillips.

By that stage, the work Hull had done in the first half-hour had long since forgotten. Their priority must now switch back to achieving a return to the Premier League under their manager, who left out a number of first-choice individuals with that aim in mind.

"In my opinion we deserved at least one goal but if we perform like this we will be in a strong situation in the league," the Hull manager commented. "Keep fighting, maybe in the next matches this can be a good example of how we must play."

Hull showed plenty of endeavour to the final whistle, and they nearly claimed a consolation when Lewis Koumas struck a the upright in injury time. But this was the Blues' evening, and another encouraging step forward for their new head coach at a stadium he is familiar with very well.

Cup History Look Good

The result made for an in the end routine evening’s work, and the FA Cup-shaped signs are good from here for the winners. They have faced Hull on three previous occasions in this tournament in the past ten years and every single time, they have gone on to reach the showpiece. There is still work in that respect, but this was another significant tick for the Chelsea boss.