Skipper ready for battle...
SADDLERS' skipper, Adam Chambers, says the approach will be no different to any other game as we look to secure our first-ever visit to Wembley Stadium.Dean Smith’s men hold a two-goal lead heading into the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy Northern Area Final second-leg with Preston North End on Tuesday evening but Chambers is adamant his players will go out to win the game on the night.
“We’re confident, as we are with every game we prepare for,” explained Chambers. “Especially off the back of a win against Colchester, which was a decent performance from our point of view.
“We’ve had ten days to prepare so the lads will be fresh and it’s a game which we will go out and look to win on the night.
“I think it’s the best way to approach it. If we start thinking about sitting back and defending, we’re going to invite unnecessary pressure so we’ve got to attack like any other game.
“Psychologically we may have an edge having beaten them twice already but this is a completely new game. It’s going to throw up totally new scenarios and we need to adapt to the situations of the game.”
The Saddlers have already beaten Preston both home and away this term but Chambers is aware of the dangers that the visitors will pose on Tuesday night.
“They’ve got some very good players who caused us problems in the first leg.” he added. “We know they can score goals and we’ll have to be aware of that but we need to make sure we’re a threat going the other way.
"The first goal could be important. If we get it then it makes it very difficult for them and if they score first you can expect them to apply a lot of pressure but we have to manage the game the best we can.”
Goals from Anthony Forde and Tom Bradshaw have put The Saddlers on the brink of being the first Walsall side to step out at the national stadium, but the skipper refuses to be drawn into any talk of Wembley just yet.
“To tell you the truth I don’t really think that far ahead,” he smiled. “In football you have to just focus and concentrate on the next game.
“I’m confident in the group of lads we’ve got that when we step out on that pitch that we’re capable of beating anyone on our day. If our performance is right then nine times out of ten the result is the right one as well."
Over 10,000 fans will be crammed inside the Banks’s Stadium and Chambers knows the players will have to handle what will be an electric atmosphere in front of a sell-out crowd.
“With the number of fans we’re expecting, you can’t help but be aware of them when you’re on the pitch," he went on. "Hopefully they’ll get behind us as they have all season and spur us all on.
“Preston have got to come and attack us so there will be times when we’ll have to withstand some pressure and we’ll need our fans to get behind us."
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