Chelsea defender Ben Chilwell says he thinks the connection between the team and fans at Stamford Bridge is “starting to come back” and believes the Carabao Cup final at Wembley will be an invaluable experience for Mauricio Pochettino’s young side.
The 27-year-old made his return from injury in the 6-1 Carabao Cup semi-final second leg hammering of Middlesbrough, playing 65 minutes as the Blues booked their place at Wembley to face Liverpool.
Chilwell has been out since October with a hamstring injury but says he has been trying to stay involved with the squad as much as possible while preparing for his return.
“It is tough, of course. You want to be playing football,” he explained.
“I’ve missed a lot of games of football, some games I would loved to have been involved in.
“It’s important to focus on myself. Just make sure that when I get back I’m ready, just mentally and physically, be the best shape I can be in to help the team.
“I knew I wasn’t going to last the whole game but it was more about just seeing how long I could go for and put everything into the game.
“Every time I get injured, I’ve always tried to do more than I did the time before but this time, literally two or three days after I got injured, it was straight back to the fitness stuff so that I didn’t lose anything.
“I’ve been doing everything I can to make sure that when this day came I was 100% and physically I felt brilliant out there today and mentally I feel good as well. I’ve made sure that I’ve been around the boys for the whole time I’ve been injured and been involved in meetings and just trying to be around it.
“I had a conversation with the manager a few days after I got injured and just said now that I’m injured and I can’t help on the pitch, how do you want me to help away from it? How can I use my brain in other ways to stimulate myself and help the team in other ways?
“Making sure I’m in meetings, making sure I’m talking, making sure that I’m helping the young boys because for a few of them, it’s a big step to come to Chelsea and play in front of, rightfully so, a demanding fanbase that want us to win because they’re so used to that.”
Chelsea have now won eight of the last nine home games at Stamford Bridge following a disappointing first half of the season under Pochettino.
And Chilwell believes his side are on the up and says playing a final at Wembley will be of huge benefit to the club’s younger players, adding that he thinks there is a connection building between the team and the fans.
He said: “It’s obviously a very important game for the club. Going to Wembley, I think for this group it’s going to be so important and a great experience for the team so we’re all looking forward to it.
“Of course I want to go and win but we need to make sure, as a group, we really enjoy the experience and soak it in because that’s equally as important for a group like ours.
“There’s only a few of us that have won a trophy at Chelsea and it’s a club that demands trophies. We need to make sure we go there to win but also it’s going to be a great experience for a lot of the players and they need to enjoy it as well.
“We’re still fighting for two domestic cups, we’re in a final, we’ve got Aston Villa in a few days which is another massive game. We’re not happy with getting to one final, we want to get to the FA Cup final as well.
“It’s eight out of nine wins here so it’s really becoming a good place for us to play and we’re really enjoying playing here. I think that connection between the fans and the players is starting to come back here which is so important.”
