Owen Moxon says he and his Carlisle United team-mates will do everything they can to make the Wembley dream come true.
Midfield star Moxon admits it would be a brilliant experience to play for the Blues at the national stadium in a play-off final.
They must get past Bradford City to get there in a semi-final which gets under way with tomorrow’s first leg at Valley Parade (kick-off 7pm).
Moxon said getting to Wembley would cap a memorable season and he added: “One thing I said the other day is what a difference a year can make for me personally.
“I went to the Annan play-off game the other day, and hopefully they go up.
“I was playing in that last year. At the game I was thinking, ‘In a few weeks’ time this could be me playing at Wembley’.
“It’s definitely a dream. Every lad, I can imagine, has dreamed of playing at Wembley and getting promoted there. It definitely would be a bit of a dream come true.
“But we need to get there first. I’m trying not to think about that until after these games.
“I’m sure it will mean the world to everybody if we can get there and get promoted. You definitely don’t want to be losing a game there.
“But we need to get there first and that’s what I’m focusing on at the minute.”
If Carlisle overcome Mark Hughes’ Bantams it would be a first visit to Wembley for 12 years.
It would also be a first ever appearance at the national stadium for the Cumbrians in the play-offs.
They will be roared on by a sell-out 2,440-strong travelling support at Bradford on Sunday night as they bid to make a positive start in their semi-final.
Fans’ favourite Moxon says he and his team-mates greatly appreciate the support.
“The fans have been amazing. I know it’s the play-offs and a big game, and at Bradford you’re able to have a lot more fans, but nearly 2,500 sold out in a day or two, for a Sunday night…I’m sure there’ll be a lot of kids there who have school the next day too…it just shows how much the fans and city are getting behind us.
“We’ve done well, and it’s nice to see them support us in that and notice we’ve done well.
“I’ve got a few mates going down. They’re looking forward to it – they keep telling me they’re buzzing for it.
“The support all season has been brilliant. From a playing point of view the boys can’t thank them enough for this year.
“We just want to give them something to cheer about.”
United finished fifth in League Two after a largely positive season and, though their form over the run-in was not formidable, Moxon says that does not have to count when it comes to the play-offs.
“Results maybe haven’t gone how we’d want them the last month, so I think once Sutton was done and we knew we were in the play-offs, for me it definitely felt like a bit of a reset,” he said.
“It’s three more games now hopefully, and a case of getting ourselves ready for them and go and perform the best we can in them.
“If it doesn’t take us where we want it to, then at least we can say we tried our best and it wasn’t meant to be. But we’re definitely not thinking like that – we just want to go and do well and see where it takes us.”
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