Dave Jones led skint Cardiff into the FA Cup Final and insisted it was his greatest achievement in football.
Joe Ledley's stunning overhead volley booked the Bluebirds - £25million in the red - a return to Wembley on May 17. Boss Jones will go head-to-head with Harry Redknapp's Portsmouth. Cardiff's tense win in yesterday's all-Championship semi-final with Barnsley means an English manager will lift the Cup for the first time since Jones's former Everton team-mate Joe Royle in 1995.
And Jones, a semi-final loser with the Toffees back in 1971, said: "If I can go on to achieve what Joe did, I'll be a very proud man.
"And why shouldn't we do it? We are a match for anyone, and we will have just as much chance as Portsmouth on the day.
"One of my best wins in cup football was against Harry Redknapp when Stockport beat West Ham in the League Cup on the way to the semi-finals.
"That night, Iain Dowie scored one of the best goals I've ever seen - a fantastic diving header into the top corner... at the wrong end!"
Ledley's ninth-minute goal was enough to break the hearts of Barnsley, and Jones added: "The quality of Joe's strike would have graced any semi-final, and that moment will remain with him for the rest of his life."