The 36-year-old was quick to quash rumours he could hang up his boots after the Wembley clash against Portsmouth, which could prove to be Hasselbaink's last chance to claim some silverware in the English domestic game.

"I'm not retiring. Winning or losing, I'm not retiring," he said.

"I love it. The day that I don't care any more, that's the day when I'm going to stop. I want to train every day."

The Bluebirds have the option to extend the Dutchman's existing deal by a further year and Hasselbaink hinted the game may not be his last for the Coca-Cola Championship club. However, he insists that for now, his focus remains firmly on the final.

"I don't want to say a lot about that," Hasselbaink said. "I just want to concentrate on the game. But it looks as if I'm going to stay at Cardiff."

For a player who spent much of his career at the top of the game it may come as a surprise that Hasselbaink's only medal came in the Portuguese Cup during his days with Boavista.

In 1998, he was part of the Holland squad which was a penalty shoot-out away from being involved in a World Cup final.

There was further disappointment two years later at Atletico Madrid when the misery of relegation was compounded by a Copa del Rey final defeat to Espanyol.

Next up came a shot at FA Cup glory in 2002 with Chelsea when they took on Arsenal at the Millennium Stadium. The outcome was the same, however, although the loss paled into insignificance when it emerged afterwards a 75% blocked vein could have led to him losing the lower part of his right leg.

His move to Middlesbrough provided another opportunity when they reached the UEFA Cup final in 2006, but the outcome was the same as Sevilla swept them aside in a 4-0 thrashing.

It is fair to say Hasselbaink had given up hope of winning major silverware when he agreed to move to Ninian Park on a free transfer last summer, but he fully intends to grasp the opportunity now it has come along.

"It means a hell of a lot. And it means a little bit more because it is with Cardiff and nobody expected us to go that far. It is just great," he added.

"I think you can't compare the Portuguese Cup with the FA Cup. The FA Cup is 10 million times bigger. Everybody watches it over the whole world.

"If you just look at the press day, everybody is here, even people from Scotland! All over the world!

"It's amazing, the FA Cup: every little boy who wants to be a footballer wants to win the FA Cup.

"I can't put it into words. We all believe that we have a chance of winning it as well." The veteran forward has played a pivotal role in City's fairytale run to the final, scoring one of the goals of the competition in the fifth-round victory over Wolves.

Tomorrow looks certain to provide his sternest challenge of the entire season, with Pompey's defence second only to Everton's outside the big four in league action this term.

However, the prospect of facing Sol Campbell and Sylvain Distin is nothing new to him - and history gives him reason for confidence.

"I've scored a few times against Sol and against Sylvain as well, for Middlesbrough. But it is a totally different game.

"They've got 11 great players, but we have 11 great players as well and we have five good ones on the bench.

"It will be a good battle, but I think it will be a tight game as well."