Ranieri's Rants- Malaysia

"It was hard. I wanted to preserve the strikers- Jimmy, Eidur Gudjohnsen and the rest but we needed a victory. The last half hour was very good for us, it was a good victory but the first half was very hard."

When questioned on the impact made by new singing Damien Duff, Ranieri replied "Damien showed what we want. You know, he is very good, very quick and had a good cross (for Gudjohnsen's goal). The link with the strikers and him was also good.

"Look, Bridge and Duff need to work more as it was their first match and they only had four days to train, not with me, but with the squad. I am pleased. It was an important fitness test and important, for me, for us to play in the final."

So it's Chelsea vs Newcastle in Sunday's final...