Nico Yennaris believes there is no better feeling in football than achieving promotion and that is exactly what he is planning to do with his Wycombe Wanderers team-mates this Saturday.
The Chairboys face Southend United at Wembley tomorrow evening with the winner securing their place in Sky Bet League One for next season.
Having worked all season to get to the Play-Off final Nico thinks it would be the perfect way for the club, and the fans, to end the season with a win at the home of English football.
Speaking to Bees Player ahead of the match Nico said: “You can’t really beat the feeling of getting promotion and achieving something.
“You tell the boys that they have to enjoy the game because they don’t come around often.
“You have to enjoy it and give it all that you have got.
“If you are lucky enough to be involved in more than one then that’s great but if this is your first time in a game like this, and hopefully not the last, you have to enjoy the day, give it all that you have got and come off the pitch with no regrets.
“You have got to play the game, not the occasion and do your job on the day.
“We have a job to do and I am sure that as long as we are not distracted by the occasion we will be fine.
“Hopefully Saturday will be a great game.
“We know what Southend United are about but we have to focus on what we do best and if we can do that then we can get the win.
“It will be a great experience for me and lovely to win at Wembley on my first visit there.
“I have come here and got a run of games so I am thankful to the staff here for playing me.
“It would be nice to give something back by helping the team win promotion.
“Winning tomorrow would top the season off nicely especially coming from where they were last season to potential League One promotion.
“The fans have been great home and away since I got here.
“They have welcomed me and Sam with open arms and I am sure that if we win it will be a nice end to the season for the fans.”
Nico is one of the few members of the Wycombe Wanderers squad who has experience of playing on some of the biggest stages of all.
The 21-year-old made his Premier League debut at The Emirates as an 18-year-old for Arsenal against Manchester United.
The defender admits that the big crowds can sometimes be daunting but said it is important that the players try to enjoy the occasion as much as possible.
“The boys are in good spirit and everyone is buzzing ahead of Saturday’s game,” said Nico.
“We need to go and play the game and enjoy the occasion.
“It will be a great experience.
“I have never played there before so I want to go there, give it my best and hopefully get the win.
“Playing at The Emirates in the Premier League in front of 60,000 people can be daunting when you are 18.
“You take the experience, you go with it and you enjoy it.
“Some players may be lucky enough to get that week in week out but others might not be so lucky.
“You have to enjoy it at the time and see what happens.
“Being fortunate to play in front of big crowds before helps when you play in games like Saturday.
“If I can help anyone in the team out then I will do so.”
Wycombe qualified for the Play-Off final after beating Plymouth Argyle home and away in the Play-Off Semi-Final.
The Chairboys raced into a 3-0 lead at Home Park before two late goals brought Plymouth right back into the tie.
However first-half goals from Paul Hayes and fellow Brentford loanee Alfie Mawson in the home leg secured Gareth Ainsworth’s side’s progress to the Wembley showpiece.
Having dropped out of the automatic promotion places in the final weeks of the season Nico said that conceding the two late goals in the South West was a real wake-up call in terms of maintaining their standards right to the end.
“The last couple of weeks of the season we had a couple of injuries and that unbalanced the team a little bit,” said Nico.
“The boys did great to go from where they were last season to in the Play-Offs this season.
“We knew that we were always going to be up there it was just unfortunate that it wasn’t automatic.
“The boys always had a belief that at the minimum we would get Play-Offs and it came down to the wire on the final day.
“We were unlucky not to go up automatically but we did well in the Play-Off semi-finals and hopefully we can continue that in the final.
“Conceding two late on at Plymouth Argyle gave us a wake-up call to see the potential that they had to hurt us if we dropped our standards.
“In the last 10 minutes of that match we dropped our levels a bit and we got punished for it.
“Luckily we had the lead and it was a wake-up call for the second leg.
“The first-half of the second leg we were very good with our game-plan and I don’t think they had a shot until the 60th minute.
“That goes to show that when we are on our game we are a hard team to play against.”
Nico managed just three appearances for Brentford this season before joining Wycombe Wanderers on loan in February.
Since joining the Buckinghamshire club he has been an almost ever-present and grabbed his first professional goal in the 3-2 final day win over Northampton Town that secured fourth spot.
The Arsenal trainee feels that he has settled in well with Wycombe and has been pleased to get a regular run of matches in the team.
“The boys have welcomed us and we have fitted in really well,” said Nico.
“They said that we have helped them out and boosted the team which is a plus and nice to hear.
“Everyone is in good spirits down here and the team is very tight knit.
“The unity in the team is very good and that is similar to Brentford.
“It isn’t the biggest squad down here so the boys get on really well and they stick together.
“It has been nice to get a run of games, week in week out.
“Getting that run of consecutive games is a plus because that is when you can show what you really do by getting in a rhythm and getting your form on.”