“Cardiff was a great experience but it had a different feel to it, because to get to the final with a team like Millwall was amazing,” says the Australian. “Dennis Wise had a great bunch of lads and strong team bond, which is like here at Everton.

“To be honest, our Cup final that year was the semi-final against Sunderland at Old Trafford.

“Dennis Wise and Ray Wilkins told us to enjoy the day in the final, and that’s what we did. We knew United were the better team and to be there was fantastic for us and our supporters.

“But this time we’ll only enjoy it if we win it. With the collective group we have at Everton and the squad of players, we do have a realistic chance of winning.

“With the momentum we have shown in the last five months, when people thought we might fall away, we have a massive chance of winning if everything goes right on the day. Losing against Chelsea will be hard to take because this is a really big chance for us to give something back to our fans and ourselves and the gaffer. It’s up to us to take that chance.”

Cahill’s Goodison career has been hampered in recent years by recurring metatarsal problems, with the latest problem leaving him frustratingly sidelined as Everton stuttered during the opening weeks of the campaign.

Cahill, though, looked back home for salvation and, after a successful operation by renowned Australian surgeon Kim Slater, has produced another impressive run of form, notably when pressed into a makeshift striker’s role with an injury crisis gripping Everton’s forward line during the winter.

“I had an indifferent start to the season because I was coming back from another metatarasal injury,” he says. “I’d had radical surgery, and who knows, the injury might have been career threatening.

“I’d done the injury twice before and I was willing to take the risk of the surgery not working. Even now I’m constantly having rehab and making sure everything is all right.

“Kim Slater, who did the operation, does the cricketers and rugby players,. He is a pretty radical guy, he doesn’t so much take risks but really believes in what he is doing.

“I’d spoken to a lot of surgeons, people in America, Holland and Belgium, but I knew Kim was the right guy for me.

“There was never any nagging doubt about the injury because, rather than have reserve games, I went straight back into the first team against Stoke and scored the winner, and I kicked on from there.

“The manager lets me go back to Australia for treatment and knows when I come back I’ll give everything on the pitch.”

Cahill adds: “My main aim was to play 35 games this season, get 10 goals and just be fit. It’s been a great season for me because I’ve worked very hard off the pitch to keep my fitness at the best it can be.

“Now I want to take that into next season as I feel next season is going to be very big for me. I want to play a whole season free of injury and replicate what I’ve done in the past.”