As far as Derby and West Brom fans are concerned, all roads lead to Wembley for Monday's Championship play-off final - the biggest and most lucrative game of a long, hard season. The Rams secured their place in the showpiece via a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory following a remarkable 4-4 aggregate draw with Southampton. An amazing 14 goals were scored in the two semi final fixtures and we'll all be hoping for another thriller in a few days time. Derby suffered the disappointment of missing out on automatic promotion on the final day of the season but Billy Davies' side have shown great resilience to battle their way to the final and they are now just 90 minutes away from a return to the top flight. Givemefootball's Mark Shail logged the thoughts of defender Jay McEveley before the big showdown.
Q:YOU MUST BE LOOKING FORWARD TO MONDAY?
A:I can see the final being an absolutely fantastic occasion for both sets of supporters. Nights like our match against Southampton show you why the play-offs exist. For the supporters and the players themselves, it was amazing to be part of.
Q:WHAT A GAME THAT WAS?
A:It was end-to-end. Exactly what a play-off semi final is all about. You don't think you can top a game like the one at Southampton, with the two teams playing so well. But then you come to Pride Park on the Tuesday, with the atmosphere and the support from both sides, absolutely fantastic.
Q:WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO BE INVOLVED IN THAT MATCH?
A:It was just incredible – the two teams were just battling it out – goal line clearances – it had everything. I've said before that I thought we should go up automatically because we finished so many points clear of the team in fourth but games like our semi final make up for it.
Q:SO IN THAT RESPECT DO YOU THINK THE PLAY-OFFS ARE UNFAIR?
A:I know the play-offs make things more exciting but I'm not a big fan – I don’' think it's fair. You work hard all season and play 46 games. If you finish in the top three you should go up. In the Premiership the bottom three go down, it's as simple as that. When you look at it in that way, the play-offs do seem unfair but they do give other teams hope. If the top two run away with the division there is always a top six place to fight for. I'd rather it be less exciting and just go up.
Q:YOU MUST BE RELISHING THE PROSPECT OF PLAYING AT THE NEW WEMBLEY THOUGH?
A:It's going to be the biggest moment of my career without a doubt. I'm just made up for the lads, I can't believe we got there. I went to the old Wembley, to the 1995 FA Cup final as an Everton fan – I was playing at Everton at the time. They took us all to watch the game and we went down on the coach for a day out and it was brilliant. This time I'll be on the pitch playing, amazing.
Q:AND ARE YOU CONFIDENT DERBY CAN DO IT?
A:I hope so. The Premiership is where you want to be and, hopefully, we can finish the job and get there. This is a fantastic club and everything is geared up for the Premiership.
