Comolli: Cup win would be massive

The Director of Football sat down with Liverpoolfc.tv at Melwood for an in-depth chat ahead of the Wembley showpiece with Cardiff City this weekend.

In it, Comolli explained why he feels a Reds triumph at Wembley will have a knock-on effect as they chase FA Cup glory and a top-four finish over the remainder of the season.

In addition, he revealed why he is convinced Tottenham Hotspur's success in the same competition back in 2008 provided them with the foundations and momentum to become contenders for the Barclays Premier League title.

Comolli also describes the excitement of LFC owners John Henry and Tom Werner at making the final and why seeing a photograph of Steven Gerrard with the Champions League trophy has whetted his appetite even more ahead of Sunday.

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What's the mood like around Melwood as we look forward to the cup final?

The mood is very, very good as you can imagine, but I think it is more due to the fact we played well and won comfortably on Sunday and scored a lot of goals. I think if we'd had a different result on Sunday maybe the mood would have been a bit different, but the fact we won and have the Cup final coming up this Sunday, there is a very positive atmosphere around the place at the moment.

Was there a deliberate decision made at the start of the season to take this competition seriously - something which perhaps some other clubs haven't done over recent seasons?

I don't think it is something we talked about specifically, but it was obvious to everybody at the club - Kenny, the owners, myself and everybody - that it was a big competition. Both cups were big competitions because we are not playing in Europe, so we knew it was an opportunity to maybe get our hands on a trophy - maybe two if possible.

If you look at the teamsheets of the games in the quarter-finals, whether it's us against Chelsea or Man City against Arsenal, those four clubs played with the best players available at the time. Certainly in the two legs of the semi-final, both teams (Liverpool and Man City) played with their best teams. Even the game at Stoke, they had a very, very strong side out.

When you get to a certain stage of the competition, everybody is in to win it because everybody sees it as a trophy - and winning a trophy at this stage of the season is a major, major boost for the rest of the season. We are Liverpool and we want to compete in and try to win every competition we're in.

24 different players have played for Liverpool during the competition - what does that say about the strength of the squad?

I think it is very positive for two reasons. First of all because we've got a lot of senior players of the same level - the number of internationals within this squad is quite amazing.

The second reason is because the young players who came into the team early on in the season in the early rounds did really well. When we played at Exeter, Danny Wilson, Jack Robinson and Jon Flanagan played and played well, and then later on Sebastian Coates played at Stoke and then he played against Chelsea. Martin Kelly can also still be considered as a young player and he did extremely well in all of the games he was involved in, scoring a goal at Chelsea and also (played well) in the first leg of the semi-final at Manchester City. It gives them experience, which is very positive for the young players, but also - and maybe more importantly - it shows to everybody they can compete, come into the team and do really well.

It keeps the senior players under a little bit of pressure because there is competition, and it gives Kenny plenty of flexibility because it gives him a wider-range of players to chose from.

Nobody could say we've reached Wembley the easy way. We've had some really tough ties along the way. To beat Chelsea and then Manchester City - what does that say about the progress we are making at the moment?

It became a little bit of a joke within Melwood with everybody saying, 'When are we going to have a home draw?' and we didn't until the second leg of the semi-final, so it was tough. First of all, going to Exeter you never know what you're going to get from those games and they certainly had a good go. Stoke was difficult a few weeks after losing there in the league, and then obviously Chelsea away and then Manchester City is even more difficult. But we went into every game to win it, definitely.

Kenny's approach to the games was always to say, 'We want to go to Wembley, we are here to win' - and I think we showed that with the quality of players we had on the pitch for every game.

As the Director of Football, tell us about your respect for the job Kenny Dalglish has done in leading Liverpool back to Wembley...

It's not only about that - I think it is more than taking the club back to Wembley and winning four or five Carling Cup games. It's about everything. When he took over last year in January, we said all along at the time we thought he was the right person to do it at the time. When he got the job on a permanent basis last summer we also said he was the obvious choice and it was a great opportunity for the club to have Kenny in charge.

Since then he's said several times - and I think the chairman has said as well - the team and the squad has improved. We've got a fantastic opportunity to win a trophy on Sunday and the season is definitely not finished beyond that. He's done a great job and I've got to say that Steve Clarke, Kevin Keen and John Achterberg next to him have done a great job as well.

With it being a cup final, will the preparations differ in any way compared to any other game?

I think we made the point it should be treated as a normal away game. Obviously it's on a neutral ground, but it becomes an away game in the preparation because we travel. Everything will be absolutely the same - the travelling, the hotel, and the preparation for the game will be exactly the same. Obviously there is more hype and players will be asked for tickets by their families etc, and they might see more directors than usual at their hotel on Saturday and Sunday, but I think Kenny and the coaching staff made the point very early they wanted to treat it as an absolutely normal game.

The players won't see any difference from an away game - the preparation will be the same. Behind the scenes we took some slightly different approaches and actions to what we do for a normal game because obviously it is an opponent we're not used to playing. We've scouted them a lot more than what we would for a normal Premier League game and we got a lot more clips and videos of them than we would have done for a normal game.

As much as Kenny and the coaching staff don't know Cardiff off by heart as they do with the Premier League teams and players, it is the same for the players. We need to make sure the players are presented with the best possible video clips and information so they go into the final on Sunday as well prepared as they can be.

This is a new, young squad - it's often said the first trophy is the most difficult to win so what could victory on Sunday mean for the confidence of the players and for the future of LFC?

I think it's quite obvious - it will be a major boost for everybody. The place is buzzing for Sunday and if we win it, it would give a boost to absolutely everybody at the club - the players, the owners, and everybody involved with the football club will be very, very positive about that going forward.

I remember last year, Roberto Mancini said before the (FA) Cup final that once you win the first one, it gives confidence to everybody. Man City came back and early on this season were absolutely flying. We had a similar experience at Spurs when we won the Carling Cup in 2008 against Chelsea. For me, that was the base for what has happened to Spurs since then. At the time, the likes of Ledley King, Assou-Ekotto, Bale, Lennon, Huddlestone, Michael Dawson, Younes Kaboul and Jermain Defoe were all at the club already. But winning it, especially when you are the underdog like we were at the time, just gives massive, massive confidence to everybody.

I am convinced Spurs have built their success on this - and hopefully the same thing can happen for us. The last success for us was in 2006, which I remember well against West Ham in the FA Cup final, so it's a long time, six years. If we could win and finish the season on a positive note afterwards, we'd start next season in fantastic shape.

This will be Liverpool's first visit to the new Wembley, and so it'll be a nice experience for a lot of players. But there will be a lot of experience in the squad  as well on Sunday - how big a role do those players - the likes of Gerrard, Carragher, Reina - have to play?

Don't forget somebody like Dirk (Kuyt) who has played in a Champions League and World Cup final - it's difficult to do better than that! And obviously Luis Suarez and Sebastian (Coates) recently played in the Copa America final in the summer, which is also a massive, massive competition. There's Stewart Downing as well, this will be his third Carling Cup final, so he knows what it is all about.

I think it is more in the preparation and the week leading up to the final those players will have  leadership and experience roles where they will make sure everybody is calm, not getting agitated and at the same time being focused - not being distracted by family members, travelling and tickets and staying fully focused on the game for Sunday.

And victory would mean European football is guaranteed for next season - is that another big motivation to win this game?

I will say yes and no. Yes because we know what we'll get if we win and we are guaranteed to be in the Europa League next season. But I am sure if you said to anybody here, especially the players, 'You are going to qualify for the Europa League if you win on Sunday', I am sure they would say 'Right, but the most important thing is that we win the trophy.' That is the most important thing.

The Europa League would obviously be a big plus, a big bonus and help for next season as well if we know at the end of February we are in Europe. After Sunday, there will still be plenty to play for until the end of the season and if we qualify for the Europa League next season then that's great.

When the new owners arrived, the challenge was to start bringing silverware back to Liverpool - how excited are they of the prospect of being one game away from their first trophy? I am sure you speak to them quite a lot - what have they been saying?

We spoke to them yesterday with Kenny and obviously they are looking forward to their first visit to Wembley and to Sunday. I think as everybody did at the club, they got into the competition slowly, little by little and step by step as the rounds went by. After the first-leg of the semi-final, I had a conversation with them and explained what Wembley meant to English football and about winning a trophy as well. Everybody is obsessed and focused - and rightly so - by trying to get into the Champions League, but winning a trophy is what football clubs are all about, especially Liverpool.

They were both here for the semi-final, second leg and absolutely enjoyed it. They are delighted - they understand the importance of it. They understand how important it is for the fans and everybody at the club, and they can't wait as we all can't.

It would mean so much to everybody at the club to see Steven Gerrard lifting that trophy on Sunday, wouldn't it?

Yes. I was thinking about it a few days ago - I saw a picture of Stevie lifting the Champions League and I thought I will be very pleased if I see him lifting another trophy on Sunday. It would be massive.

As well as the final, we have an FA Cup quarter final to look forward to and we're still within a few points of fourth place in the league - are you happy with the way this season has developed?

Yes, of course. Kenny has said it several times, and I think I have said it before as well, we think we are making progress - quite important progress. In the space of 12 months since Kenny arrived, I think we have signed nine new players. It's not something small, it's a massive, massive overhaul of the squad.

Obviously it takes a bit of time, but to be where we are means we are doing the right things and are progressing. Sunday will be a major achievement and a very strong statement from Liverpool Football Club. But again, we need to win on Sunday and then there is also plenty to play for after that - there are a lot of Premier League games to play and there is another cup we are involved in, so the season won't stop. Whether we win or lose, it won't stop on Sunday because there are still very, very important things to achieve.