Chelsea V Liverpool at Wembley Stadium : Match Preview

Dalglish: Cup win won't be defining moment Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish insists winning Saturday's FA Cup final against Chelsea should not be seen as a defining moment in the club's recent history. Success in knockout competitions this season - having already won the Carling Cup - has masked problems with their league results. Dalglish believes a second piece of silverware, having ended a six-year wait, represents progress in itself as Liverpool would become the first club to complete the domestic cup double twice. But he knows sooner rather than later his side have to address the challenge of regaining a top-four spot if only for the revenue stream, with club accounts published this week recording a near-#50million loss. Not that he will be mentioning that to his players. "The players don't go on the pitch thinking about finance, they are thinking about winning the FA Cup final," said the Scot. "It is an achievement to get there and a greater achievement to win it. "It's always special when you win a game and somebody puts a bit of silverware in your hand afterwards. "But I don't think it's a defining result for either club. "They've got the cup final and they've got the Champions League coming up so they're fighting on three fronts (Chelsea are still challenging for the top four) to try to get success." With a worldwide television audience running into many millions, Wembley provides the ideal stage for Liverpool to prove some of their critics wrong. League results may have been disappointing but they have not always accurately reflected performances. However, Dalglish does not regard the match as being an advert to showcase the club and help attract new players or even sponsors this summer. "We have got there because we have played well, not badly and struggled through," he added. "Whether it is impressive to some or unimpressive to others we cannot legislate for that and we needn't be contemplating that." Meanwhile, Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo was determined not to make the final about his past or his future as he backed his players to make their own history. Blues captain John Terry led the tributes to Di Matteo at the club's cup final media day, urging his team-mates to beat Liverpool to help their caretaker manager land the job full-time. But Di Matteo refused to contemplate the consequences of victory for his hopes of being handed the reins by billionaire owner Roman Abramovich. One bookmaker has stopped taking bets on Di Matteo's coronation, so spectacularly has he transformed the club's fortunes since being placed in charge two months ago. But he said: "I'm not thinking about that. "People can speculate, write and say whatever they want. "My position hasn't changed from day one. I know what I have to do from now until the end of the season." He added of his job prospects: "It's totally irrelevant. I'm just thinking about tomorrow's game and bringing a trophy home. "You work so hard all season for these reasons." Di Matteo was grateful for the backing of his players, saying: "It's great if they feel confident because they're the ones out on the pitch who have to bring the win and the trophy home for us. "It's good to see they have belief that we can have success together." The 41-year-old is also the overwhelming choice among supporters and he added: "I always had a great connection and relationship with the fans, and will have in the future as well."

Chelsea V Liverpool - view commentary, squad, and statictics of the game live.

Source: PA

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