Mauricio Pochettino has urged Chelsea fans not to evaluate him solely based on “winning titles,” as the Blues aim for their first domestic trophy in six years.
Chelsea’s most recent domestic trophy was the 2018 FA Cup, although they have secured four international honors since then.
Pochettino, who assumed control at Stamford Bridge last summer, has the opportunity to claim his first domestic prize in England after previous tenures at Southampton and Tottenham.
“For me, that is not the way to judge a coaching staff,” said the Argentine.
“It’s about being competitive and winning, but there are too many factors that influence.
“I think [victory on Sunday] is not going to increase my popularity or the way the fans are going to see us.”
Pochettino used the example of Jurgen Klopp to reinforce his point, saying the Liverpool manager’s reputation was not affected by a near four-year wait for his first trophy at Anfield.
“Klopp was good before he arrived at Liverpool,” he said. “Now he’s won the Champions League and the Premier League.
“The thing is to be in the right moment in the right club that trusts in you, with the tools and the responsibility to win.”
BBC Sport football expert Chris Sutton, however, has described the Wembley showpiece as Pochettino’s “World Cup final”, telling Football Focus: “Pochettino needs to get a foothold.
“There have been murmurings [after] performances this season, but imagine if they win it.”
Meanwhile, Liverpool enter Sunday’s final with the ambition of securing the first of what could be four trophies this season.
The Reds currently lead the Premier League by four points and have progressed to the Europa League last 16 and FA Cup fifth round.
This match serves as a rematch of both the Carabao and FA Cup finals of 2022, both of which Liverpool clinched via penalties.
“This is my first final with Liverpool so it’s going to be something very special for me and the team,” said Argentina international Alexis Mac Allister.
“[Winning] the World Cup helped me to realise that I really want to win more trophies and so Sunday is a big opportunity. It’s what I wanted when I signed for the club.”
Reds trio face late fitness tests
Liverpool’s assistant manager, Pep Lijnders, affirmed that the injury-plagued Reds will afford Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez, and Dominik Szoboszlai every opportunity to recuperate ahead of Sunday’s match, given their fitness concerns.
However, with Curtis Jones joining Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Diogo Jota on the sidelines, several young and peripheral players will be featured.
“It’s always good in life to accept what you have and don’t look at what you don’t have,” said Dutch coach Lijnders. “That’s brought us success in the past.
“Johan Cruyff said that ‘every disadvantage has its advantage’, and we get young players playing who haven’t been playing [regularly] – it’s a complement to our squad and our academy.
“For me, success is growing. We focus on developing this team, on bringing young players and making them better – and the older ones. Success is a logical result of that.
“Liverpool is a club made for major trophies. Each year we should fight for them and that’s what we’ll try to do. We’ll go for it.”