Chelsea boss counts on experience in FA Youth Cup semis

The Blues are aiming to win the competition for a third year in a row and travel to Ewood Park on Friday night hoping to build an advantage.

Both the semi-final and final stages are played over two legs. And with Chelsea having recovered from a three-goal aggregate deficit to see off London rivals Tottenham Hotspur in last year’s semi-final, Edwards believes his group have the mental resolve to add to their undoubted talent.

“In terms of pressure building, you can look at it that you have a bit more breathing space with two legs,” he said.

“We learnt that last year, losing the first leg 2-0 and then going 3-0 down on aggregate in the second leg. But we managed to turn it round.

“Even the way you approach the game in terms of game plan does change now that it’s two legs, but we have players who experienced that last year and hopefully we can make that experience valuable this year.

“It’s a bigger stage and these are the games that all the boys want to be involved in. If you’re sitting at home watching you’d be frustrated about that, so it’s a positive as well. It’s a great stage for the boys to play on.”

Blackburn head coach Billy Barr is under no illusion as to the magnitude of his young team’s task.

But having seen off Aston Villa and Leicester City en route to the last four, Barr is hopeful of landing another big scalp.

“Cup competitions throw up many challenges throughout for the bigger teams and we are hoping that if we start the way we can, we can turn the tables on Chelsea,” he said.

“I don’t mind being the underdog. We haven’t got Chelsea’s resources, we’ve got a group of players that have been at the club for a very long time though.

“There’s a batch that have played together for four years, know each other inside out, and we’re hoping come Friday that’s apparent for everyone watching.

“Perhaps we underestimated the opposition in Southend and Luton in earlier rounds and maybe the lads have gone into it with a different mindset. When you do that it’s hard to flick the switch and turn it around.

“But in the games against Aston Villa and Leicester we were really good, so we’re hoping the name of Chelsea brings the best out of them.”