Gareth Ainsworth will be hoping for a better result this weekend against his boyhood club, Blackburn Rovers, after a 5-0 defeat in the reverse fixture last September.
The Wycombe boss admitted that he was a season ticket holder at Ewood Park growing up and was on Blackburn’s books as a youth team player, before being released on his 18th birthday which he said, ‘broke his heart’.
His return to Ewood Park as a manager didn’t go to plan either but the Wycombe boss admitted that the game taught him the challenges of the Championship.
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Some fans were surprised by how open the Chairboys decided to play against Rovers but Ainsworth admitted that was not the game plan.
He continued to hail Adam Armstrong, who has scored 19 goals this season, as one of the best strikers in the division.
The Wycombe boss said: “Believe me we didn't set up to be open at Ewood Park, we were torn open by one of the best strikers in the league in Adam Armstrong.
“It taught us that we were going to have to strengthen the squad and also change the way we approach games.
“It showed the strength of the championship and why it is so highly regarded around the world.
“Blackburn is my club, the club I support, and the club that got me into football.
"I wouldn't be here if it was not for Blackburn Rovers, it was the club I followed as a kid.”
With Wycombe now hosting the reverse fixture tomorrow at Adams Park, Ainsworth hasn’t shied away from what the game means to him personally.
He continued: “It is a real honour to host my hometown club, the club that I have supported all my life, and I'll continue to support them forever.
"It's great to have them at Adams Park and it is a game of football I want to win first and foremost.
“Maybe I can look back one day and think it wasn't such a bad thing getting Blackburn at Adams Park.”
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Rovers started the season optimistically and were aiming for a play-off push but they have found themselves stranded in mid-table.
Ainsworth believes this is due to the injury issues the club has faced and was full of praise for Tony Mowbray who has had questioned asked of him in recent weeks.
He said: “They’ve had injuries in key positions and with the centre back pairing earlier on in the season.
“I think that Tony is a fantastic manager, a real good person and we have had some really good chats.
“He's somebody I admire in the game because he's done everything really to manage at the levels he managed.
“I think he's awesome so it's probably just a little bit of bad luck with the injuries.”
Ainsworth also discussed the finances in the league believing that even Blackburn’s budget struggles to match the top spenders let alone the Chairboys.
He continued: “Blackburn is probably still looked at as one of the top clubs in the championship but it really isn't, not anymore.
“Back in the early 90s, we were ahead of the curve financially with Jack Walker's money and I guess it probably shows now how much money actually does talk.
“It's crazy to think that Blackburn is one of the smaller clubs in the Championship, it is a small town, got a great football history, but I think even they are up against with the amount of money being pumped out elsewhere.
“Some clubs budgets are just enormous and they're doing well and they want to get back to the Premier League but Blackburn can't compete with that sort of finance.
“And Wycombe can't compete with anything close to Blackburn so that's how far the levels are in this division.”
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