JOSE MOURINHO said last night that he would not be throwing away his FA Cup medal. The Chelsea manager, who theatrically threw his first Premiership winners’ medal into the crowd at Stamford Bridge in 2005, said: “That one I don’t throw away. It means a lot. It is the first FA Cup medal for me.”

He added that after a long, taxing season in which Chelsea’s hopes of winning the quadruple of Premiership, Champions League, FA Cup and Carling Cup had slowly been whittled away, his players deserved their moment. Asked about the pressure the club had been under in recent weeks, he said: “Only the pressure you put on yourself when you want to win, nothing else. I think that we deserve to go into the holiday period with this cup and a medal. The team played very well, they understood exactly the plan.”

Mourinho, who disappeared down the tunnel after the final whistle, revealed that he had gone to phone his children, who had been unable to attend the final. With the in-fighting at the club of the previous months seemingly put on ice, for yesterday at least, Mourinho was embraced by Chelsea chairman Bruce Buck and chief executive Peter Kenyon after receiving his medal.

Mourinho, who has now won every available domestic honour in his three seasons at the club, held up six fingers to underline how many trophies, including the Community Shield, he has won during his time at Stamford Bridge.

He again indicated that he has no desire to leave Stamford Bridge. He said: “The Chelsea fans are in my heart. I love this club.” Frank Lampard, who was instrumental in setting up Didier Drogba’s winning goal, also made it clear that he has no wish to leave Chelsea. The England midfielder, who is a reported target for Barcelona, said: “These are my people. This is my club.”

Match-winner Drogba said he was happy to score the first goal in the new Wembley. The Ivory Coast forward, whose two goals won Chelsea the Carling Cup against Arsenal at the Millennium stadium in February, added that the players would have been very frustrated had they not won yesterday.

“A lot of players have been criticised, but they are here and we are a team,” he said.

John Terry, the Chelsea captain, said it was one of the “best feelings I’ve ever experienced”.

Terry, who has lifted the Premiership trophy twice during Mourinho’s reign at Stamford Bridge, said they managed to hold on despite fatigue.

He added: “After losing our league title in front of our own fans, this makes up for it.”

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