Chelsea and our head coach went about as close as it is possible to get to lifting a trophy at the national stadium over the weekend, as we were beaten in the 11th round of a penalty shoot-out after a 0-0 draw over 120 minutes that was high on quality and commitment.

That means the German has tasted defeat in both his Wembley finals with the Blues, following last season’s FA Cup showpiece against Leicester City. However, he insists his desire to return is based purely on the chance to be part of such big games again, and not on any feelings of unfinished business, as he feels we need to put our emotions to one side and take the competition one challenge at a time.

‘We want to go back and of course as soon as possible,’ said Tuchel. ‘If you want to reach the top of the mountain you need to go from base camp to base camp. The next step is Luton. As boring as it may sound, we cannot waste any energy with feelings of revenge or feelings that we have to still prove something.’

He also underlined the fact that he considers both of those previous Wembley finals as positive experiences despite ending on the losing side, as they merely whet his appetite for more.

‘Of course it’s always like this, but the experiences, both of them were great. The first one, as a German coach to be in an FA Cup final, so full of history, was brilliant. The last match was even better because it was a full stadium with the crowd and the match we played was even more satisfying.

‘It will stick with me as a very positive memory because I’m happy with how we played it and that I had the chance to be part of it. And of course we’re addicted to it, everybody is in high-level sports. Once you’ve tasted it you want to have more.’

Tuchel continued to explain why he was not left downhearted by Sunday’s shoot-out loss to Liverpool, due to how his team performed at Wembley, but refused to be drawn on whether he felt we need to secure more silverware, in addition to the UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup, to consider our 2021/22 campaign a success.

‘I will never stop loving this game that we played. If we win a title, we win a title. If we don’t win a title I cannot jump off a building. As long as we play like this, with full commitment and quality in games like this, I am a happy coach.

‘Can I guarantee titles? No, I never did. At the end of the season it is the end of the season, then we will talk about it. In the middle of a marathon we cannot ask the people if they are happy if they stay in this place, because nobody knows if they stay in this place.

‘So let’s see at the end of the race and then we can talk about the race and if we are happy with the outcome. In the middle of the race we focus on the race. This is where we are, tomorrow is the next step.’