9:26am Friday 9th May 2008
WANDERERS boss Paul Lambert has told his players to go out and make themselves heroes by booking a place in the play-off final at Wembley.
The Blues entertain Stockport County on Sunday evening (ko 6pm) looking to build an advantage to take to Edgeley Park for the second leg in eight days time.
And Lambert, who unbelievably guided his team to the Carling Cup semi-final in his first year at the helm 12 months ago, is backing his team to do it and end their four-year exile in the bottom division.
He said: "We are three games from greatness.
"Someone has got the chance to make themselves a real hero but in my view they are already heroes for what they have done in the two years since I've been here.
"This is the culmination of that. We've had two seasons of unbelievable highs here and now it could get even better. We reached the Carling Cup semi-finals last year when no-one gave us a chance and now we are two games away from playing at Wembley in a play-off final."
Standing between Wycombe and a first appearance under the giant arch are a Stockport side who inflicted a record 6-0 league defeat on Wanderers in December.
But Lambert is confident his men can settle that score and has backed them to book a final tie against Darlington or Rochdale on May 26.
He said: "I can't wait for the games and neither can the players.
"We don't enter games with any fear and I've got no fear whatsoever about Stockport - not with the group of lads I have got.
"I respect them but I have got no worries about them."
He insists his team can handle the pressure of the matches, which are live on Sky television, and that last year's cup experience when they knocked out two Premiership clubs and drew with Chelsea in the semi-final before bowing out in the away leg, will stand them in good stead.
He said: "My lads played Chelsea in a semi-final last year so they are not going to be worried now.
"They are used to big games and pressure. People say there was no pressure against Chelsea last year but that's rubbish. There was pressure not to lose 9-0 at home in front of 10,000 people in the stadium and millions watching on TV and there was pressure not to lose 15-0 away from home but we handled that and the players will be mentally right for this as well.
"I am totally relaxed with my team. I know exactly what I am going to get and we have got nothing to fear."
And he has called on the fans to turn Adams Park into a cauldron of noise.
He said: "If ever there were two days we need the fans it's now. We need the ground rocking. We need them to bring every bit of energy they have got and it will bounce off them."
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