Southend United’s Ryan Leonard has urged his team-mates to stay focused ahead of the Sky Bet League 2 Play-Off Final.
The Shrimpers take on Wycombe Wanderers at Wembley Stadium on Saturday and promotion is within touching distance.With the pressure and tension growing around Roots Hall, it would be easy to get carried away with the occasion, but Leonard is determined to help keep his team-mates’ feet placed firmly on the ground.
“It's a nice thing to get to Wembley and we need to concentrate on what is a massive game. We need to stay focused and make sure we play well because promotion to League 1 is on offer,” he said.
“It'll be massive. The whole reason you get into football is to play in occasions like the one we'll be in on Saturday.”
Southend qualified to play at Wembley by beating Stevenage in the semi-final and they showed their grit and determination across both legs.
In a grueling battle, the two sides fought with all their might to keep their promotion dream alive and, ultimately, Southend’s quality shone through.
Phil Brown’s side now know that they are just one game away from playing in Sky Bet League 1 and Leonard feels his side are ready to make the step up.
“It's a big club for the league we're in and we want to get the result the fans deserve,” he added. “We'll do our very best on Saturday. We know it'll be a tight affair but we need to play like we've done all season. We need to treat it like a normal game and go and win.”
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