Thomas Tuchel admits winning the FA Cup wasn’t set as a priority by Chelsea when he replaced Frank Lampard in January. A top-four finish in the Premier League and Champions League football for next season was the desire of the club.
Thomas Tuchel said: “I am not a good loser but I want to be a respectful loser and I am not here to play the match [the FA Cup final] down because of financial reasons. We lost a big match, it was a huge match for us, we put out the best team possible, we did not rest anybody because we had the feeling that this game tomorrow is more important. But there is a but. Do we want to play Champions League next season? Yes, this is the target when I stepped into this club. I want to be very clear, the task was, ‘let’s try everything to be in the top four’. The task was not, ‘let’s try everything to win the FA Cup’ because the FA Cup, as big as it is, does not bring you to Champions League football next season. It’s the top four that brings us that. So, yes, tomorrow is another huge game. But like I said, the FA Cup final was big for us. Once you can collect silverware you try everything simply out of respect. And me and the players – be very sure about this – we think zero about how much money we earn [by qualifying for the Champions League]. This is not in our heads.”
Tomorrow’s game at Stamford Bridge will kick off just 72 hours after the full-time whistle was blown in FA Cup final. Both sets of players will have had just two days to recover and prepare for a game that could define their league campaign. And Tuchel admits he is confused as to why the match is being played tomorrow rather than on Wednesday evening given neither side player again until Sunday.
Thomas Tuchel said: “We do not understand because the same teams are involved and it would have been easier for both to have had a Wednesday game. There is absolutely no reason not to play Saturday, Tuesday, Sunday. It is absolutely logical to play the game on Wednesday. From a sporting side, nobody can disagree. But, okay, we were surprised we could not change and we can’t wish for another date to play so we will be ready tomorrow.”
