Thomas Tuchel insists that all of his attention is fixed on Chelsea’s meeting with Aston Villa this Sunday.
The Blues manager leads his side to Portugal next week for their Champions League final clash with Manchester City, in an all England final as he pits his wits against Pep Guardiola for the third time this season – Tuchel has emerged victorious in the previous two.
The German has reiterated his and his team’s need to focus on Villa, however, in what is their final league game of the campaign; their top four spot is not yet secured despite their 2-1 win over Leicester City on Tuesday and they need a victory at Villa Park to ensure they’ll be playing in Europe’s top competition again next term.
Villa, meanwhile, are set to welcome back around 10,000 supporters to Villa Park for the first time in more than 14 months on Sunday.
They’ll finish in 11th place, as they cannot catch Leeds in 10th nor can they be caught from the sides below them, but they’ll be eager to finish an impressive campaign with a flourish having seen off Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday.
Tuchel isn’t taking any chances and isn’t lending even half an eye to the European showdown which awaits Chelsea after their Villa bout.
“It’s best to do it step by step. As boring as it sounds, it’s the most difficult thing to do,” he said.
“We have no concerns, no video footage, no lineup even close in my head for the Man City game. It’s all about Aston Villa.
“We have to push it over the line on Sunday. It [the win over Leicester] was full of intensity and hunger and ambition. We played many minutes with a lot of quality for a well deserved win. It was not the time for celebration.
“It is not more than three points. There is another one to catch on Sunday. We have to be prepared.”