With our last league fixture of the season approaching on Sunday, and UEFA Champions League qualification up for grabs, the focus at Cobham this week remains solely on securing victory away at Nottingham Forest this weekend.

However, once our domestic schedule is completed, we have a trophy to play for when we face Real Betis in the Conference League final in Poland next Wednesday.

Ahead of that European final, the Blues' head coach had to partake in UEFA's obligatory media session at Cobham this afternoon.

You can read Maresca's answers below...

Do you know if any of the injured players will be back in time for the Conference League final?
'No, I don't know. At the moment Marc Guiu and Christo Nkunku have started to take part in our training sessions, but they are both still not 100 per cent.'

Have you made a decision on your goalkeeper for the final?
'Yes, Filip Jorgensen is going to play the final. Because he played all the competition it would be unfair now that we arrive in the final and he’s not playing in the final. So for the Betis game it will be Filip plus 10 players. I don’t know which ones the other 10 will be, but for sure Filip is going to play because he deserves to play in that final.'

A lot of young players have featured in the Conference League. Will you stick with them for the final or play your strongest team?
'For each game we try to play a strong 11. If during the season we played in the Conference League with different players, we were sure in that moment for that game it was the strongest one and we will see for the final.

'We also use Academy players in the Premier League, not just in the Conference League. When we see a young player we give them a chance. In the last game against Man United our striker [Nicolas Jackson] was suspended, our second striker [Guiu] was injured, our two wingers were out for different reasons - Jadon [Sancho] because it was not possible [because he was ineligible], Misha [Mudryk] has been out a long time - so we played and tried to be creative with a No9 from the Academy [in Tyrique George]. If they are good players it is okay to allow them to play.'

How do you cope with keeping the players focused on the Forest game with this final next week?
'I didn’t see the players since the Man United game. I will see the players today because yesterday for personal reasons I was not here and we had Saturday and Sunday off. So I will see the players today and the focus in this moment is just about Nottingham, and then after Sunday we will be focused on the final. With the players the main target is Forest. Don’t worry, they are going to be focused on Sunday, and then on Wednesday.'

Are you happy with your preparation time, given Chelsea play on Sunday but Betis play on Friday?
‘I’m not happy, 100 per cent. You cannot allow a team 48 hours more than the other team when you play the final of a European competition.’

So you think Chelsea should have been allowed to play on Friday?
‘Or they play on Sunday like us.’

Is that somewhere UEFA needs to step in?
‘I don’t know if it’s from La Liga, the Premier League or UEFA. If I ask you if it is normal to play a final where a team has 48 hours more than the other team, it is not normal. I think it’s not something correct. Now, if it’s UEFA, La Liga or the Premier League, I don’t know to be honest.’

Does there need to be clearer rules for these games by UEFA?
‘Absolutely, yes.’

You’ve described Manuel Pellegrini as a father figure in football. How special will it be playing a final against someone who means so much to you?
'It’s special, as you said. I spent four years with Manuel. He’s a reference for me because of his career, because of his history and especially because in terms of a human being he’s a top person. I define him like a professional dad because many times when I need to take a big decision we are in contact.'

Will you speak to him before the final?
'I spoke with Manuel yesterday to be honest. We are so close that we spoke in the past a lot and we continue to speak now in the present, and in the future.'

Did you speak to Pellegrini about taking the Chelsea job and what did he say?
'Yes, but this is personal things. On Sunday I was in Madrid, watching Atletico Madrid-Betis live, and as I said before I spoke to Manuel many times in the past, also about the Chelsea job. In that kind of decision, I used to speak also to Manuel.'

What did Pellegrini teach you as a coach?
'I tried to learn things from all the managers. For sure, I am where I am today also because of Manuel, the things that I learned with him. In terms of how to manage players, how to manage the changing room, how to manage difficult situations and noise around the club, he’s a reference.

'He’s very close in the way he manages things to Carlo Ancelotti. I tried to learn many things. I had Manuel as a player for two years and then for almost two years I worked with him as a coach, so for me it was enough time to try to learn as much as possible from him.'

Do you think Pellegrini should go down in history as one of the great coaches?
'If you see his history for sure. With Real Madrid, he won the Premier League with [Manchester] City, semi-final of the Champions League with Villarreal, quarter-finals and semi-finals with Malaga, now a final with Betis. So for sure.'

Does a game like this against Pellegrini strain your friendship because you’re both fierce competitors?
'We both want to win, no doubt. He is going to try his best to prepare to win the game and I will do exactly the same. The good thing is that nothing will change after the game in terms of our relationship. We are very close. When we don’t work we live in the same place, very close in Spain. It’s not just about a relationship in football, it is a relationship in life.

'Manuel is the same age as my dad and when I sit next to people older than me I always try to learn because they can teach us in any moment, because they are more experienced than us. So Manuel is not just a colleague, for me he is a reference and a top person.'

You played with Betis’ Isco at Malaga…
'Yeah, he is a top player, it is crystal clear. His career speaks for itself. He spent many years with Real Madrid, we played together when Isco was very young. He joined us from Valencia and we had a top team. The striker was Ruud van Nistelrooy, we had Isco, Joaquin, Santi Cazorla…and me! That was a top team.'

Are there any lessons from the European finals you played in that you will pass on to your squad?
'Win! As a player I played four European finals, two in the Europa League and two in the Super Cup. I was lucky because we won three and lost one, but the main thing in this kind of final, I don’t know which important manager said it, but it is: “you don’t play finals, you just win finals”. So we are going to try to win the final.'

It’s your first European final as a manager. How do you prepare for the pressure?
'For me personally it’s important, but the main target is to win again a European competition with Chelsea. It is something important to the club at this moment, for the fans and for everyone, because it means that we are going in the right direction.

'Personally I will try to prepare for the game in exactly the same way I prepare for all the rest because I consider every game important. For sure it’s a final that at the end decides a title, but we are going to try to prepare the game our best and hopefully we can win the title.'

How important was the experience from this competition for the players?
'Very important, first of all because you need to build a winning mentality and you cannot win the Champions League or the Europa League if you are in the Conference League. If you are in that competition you need to be focused on winning that competition.

'For sure this season has helped the players to win games and it’s the only way to building a winning mentality. Now we are close to the last step and hopefully we can win the title.'

What is the most important thing you have learned during your first season at Chelsea?
'In terms of learning I said before I try to learn from every game and every session. So I try to learn as much as I can from every game. Also, it has been important to manage different kinds of situations since I joined the club.

'We are very close to finishing the season. I think we had a good season that can become very good. In terms of numbers we are improving, but the most important thing is to see players that are improving, which as a manager is something I feel very proud of.'