• Midfielder insists he has nothing to prove ahead of FA Cup final
• Confident he can make final cut for Capello’s World Cup squad

Joe Cole has grown used to the unnerving feeling of looking over his shoulder whenever the substitutes’ board goes up at Chelsea, but the midfielder believes he merits the opportunity to finish a frustrating season in style.

The 28-year-old is likely to be confined to the role of impact substitute in today’s FA Cup final against Portsmouth, in what will prove to be his last game for the club if he cannot agree a new contract. He could become one of the summer’s most attractive free agents.

Irrespective of whether or how he plays at Wembley, Cole says he has “nothing to prove” to Fabio Capello before the England coach finalises his 23-man party for the World Cup finals in South Africa. Cole has been included in the provisional 30-man training squad. There is nothing, though, quite like a gentle reminder.

“I don’t want to blow my own trumpet but if you look at my England career, I think I’ve always applied myself really well and produced the goods when I’ve played,” said Cole who, in many people’s eyes, was the country’s best player at the last World Cup. “I like international football, the tempo, the style – I’m happy to be there.

“You can’t get me off the training pitch at the moment, I’ve got so much energy. We did a fitness test on Wednesday and I was the fittest player in the Chelsea squad, so that shows I’m ready to go. It’s nice to be back in the England fold. I’ve represented my country since I was 15 and it’s always been special. I’m looking forward to meeting up with the boys again to see if they still remember me.”

Cole was asked what he felt he needed to do to ensure he made Capello’s final cut and the answer was: “Train well and, if I get the chance to play, just try and do well for the team but not try too hard. I’ve got nothing to prove at that level. I just want to enjoy it and I’m looking forward to seeing the boys again, especially as a champion.”

Another reminder. Cole has been supplanted in Chelsea’s starting XI by Florent Malouda and has struggled to regain his best form after a serious knee injury, but he has nonetheless played his part in the club’s Premier League title triumph. His opening goal in the vital 2-1 victory at Manchester United last month, only his second of the campaign, was arguably the turning point for Chelsea.

“I’ve not played as much as I would have liked at Chelsea, in the last five or six months,” Cole said. “It’s been tough at times but I didn’t expect it to be easy sailing. I’ve had good games and poor games but I played my part in a title-winning side and I’m very proud of that. I feel I’m back to my best now and I just need a run of games to show that.

“It’s difficult playing 20 or 30 minutes here and there and, when you are starting, you are looking over your shoulder. There’s nothing to talk about with the manager [Carlo Ancelotti]. There’s 25 in the squad and only 11 can start. But I’m professional. I’m someone who leaves everything out there on the pitch every time I play.”

Cole became a father for the first time in March, to baby Ruby, and he said that the only way for his life to get better was for Chelsea to complete the Double and for his friend Kevin Mitchell to win the WBO interim world lightweight title against Michael Katsidis at Upton Park tonight.

“I’ll be going straight from Wembley to the fight,” Cole said, “and I can see Kevin cutting Katsidis up and stopping him late on.

“I’ve always loved boxing and I used to go when I was a kid. It can be tough at times these days because it’s usually late at night and everyone is pissed. It can be difficult because people keep coming up to me, but I love boxing so much. I’d go every week if I could.”

ChelseaFA CupDavid Hytnerguardian.co.uk

Despite a squad getting on in years Carlo Ancelotti has created a free-scoring machine at Stamford Bridge who have been less accident-prone than their rivals

Chelsea have won the title by a single point, but their superiority is far beyond dispute. Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool, the other members of the usual elite, lost every game they played against Carlo Ancelotti’s team. The Premier League trophy, after a four-year absence, has been swept back to Stamford Bridge on a spate of free-scoring gusto and there is still an FA Cup final to come.

The Italian has far to go before fans at Stamford Bridge put him on a par with José Mourinho, who last conveyed the title to Chelsea, but he has exercised a different sort of expertise. Ancelotti’s alterations to the squad went little further than the addition of Yuri Zhirkov, who has started just 10 league games although his presence was a mighty relief when Ashley Cole broke his ankle.

The true impact has been simple yet memorable. Chelsea have racked up 103 league goals, six more than the previous record total of 97 set by United in the 1999-00 campaign. There is a paradox to the ebullience from a side that could be seen as a team of old sweats ill-suited to capering around excitedly.

Adventure, however, has been the only option. The defence has nothing of the stringency associated with the Mourinho era and it was a handicap, too, that injury has sidelined the imposing midfielder Michael Essien since early December. Any effort to grind out wins would have been misguided.

Nowadays Chelsea are at their healthiest in attack and Didier Drogba has 29 goals in the league, his best return in half-a-dozen seasons at the club. Ancelotti has been highly effective in utilising his predators without compromising the organisation of the whole line-up unduly.

With the penalty against Wigan that took his tally to 21 league goals, this has already been by far the most prolific campaign of Frank Lampard’s career. Nicolas Anelka, too, has been assimilated into the system. It may not please the Frenchman to be any sort of foil to Drogba, but the slightly deeper and wider role means that he exercises an influence on the build-up and also finds the net quite often.

Goals had vanished from his displays after the end of January, but the knack was rediscovered on 13 April when the team scraped a 1-0 home win over Bolton in the teeth of penalty appeals. Anelka’s instinct returned with the first of the against Wigan that relieved any tension among team-mates who had opened in a conservative manner and he would hit another exuberantly.

That narrow victory against Bolton pointed to a paradox about Chelsea. The figures demonstrate that they can be free-spirits, but the advance in the league has also needed to be dogged since there were set-backs. After opening with half a dozen wins, they became the first prestigious club to be defeated at Wigan in this campaign. While it is no scandal to fall at Manchester City, a further loss to Roberto Mancini’s team at Stamford Bridge, by a 4-2 margin, was more disturbing.

Of course, the title confirms that they have been less accident-prone than their rivals. Ancelotti has no blot on the record, for instance, to compare with United’s failure at Burnley, which was one of just seven league wins at Turf Moor for the now relegated club. Chelsea’s superiority has been marginal, but managers can take credit for maintaining such an edge.

To some extent, Ancelotti has to cope expertly with a side in decline, even if Sir Alex Ferguson confronts a steeper challenge after being obliged to trust in outfield players in their mid-30s such as Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Gary Neville. Chelsea’s results are well short of the level achieved when Mourinho landed the title in consecutive seasons, but there have been developments that probably came as a happy surprise even to the current manager.

When Jose Bosingwa injured his knee badly in October, Branislav Ivanovic, hitherto considered a centre-half, went on to show outstanding drive and reliability at right-back. By the same token, it was a gratifying for Chelsea fans to witness Florent Malouda evolve into such a creative force during the long absence of Joe Cole.

The England international may be rueful about that since it eroded his negotiating position as he comes to the end of his contract. Chelsea’s circumstances, however, are also delicate. Standards at the top of the table have dipped and few would pretend that the side is as formidable as it once was. A pair of victories for Mourinho’s Internazionale in the Champions League eliminated Ancelotti’s team and underlined their limitations.

When asked about the possibility of bidding for Liverpool’s Fernando Torres, the manager replied that he already has Drogba. That ignored the fact that the Ivorian, at 32, will not necessarily stay at his present level for much longer. Ancelotti knows there cannot be a splurge because Roman Abramovich made the rational decision some time ago that it was senseless to repeat the transfer sprees of yore.

The manager instead highlights Gaël Kakuta and four other youngsters whose opportunity will come next season, but none has yet begun a League game for Chelsea. Perhaps the quintet will constitute a revitalising force but, just to be on the safe side, supporters should make sure they relish this trophy to the full.

ChelseaCarlo AncelottiPremier LeagueKevin McCarraguardian.co.uk