Mile Jedinak is convinced that past experience of the playoffs will prove invaluable for the team as we head into the semi-final clash against Middlesbrough.
Steve Bruce has been promoted two times at Wembley with Birmingham and Hull City, while no less than eight of the current first team have experienced promotion to the Premier League.
In addition to Mile, the likes of Albert Adomah, Neil Taylor, Lewis Grabban, Robert Snodgrass, Glenn Whelan, Ahmed Elmohamady and Mark Bunn all have a lot of experience in this area.
Speaking to Sky Sports, the Australian thinks this know-how could be the key to Villa’s chances:
“You can’t take it too lightly. You sort of know what you’re going to experience with the build up. If you haven’t experienced it as a player, it’ll be nice to pass that knowledge on.”
“All I have to do is take myself back to that time and remember how it was for me with the first experience.”
Unlike automatic promotion, which our opponents have some experience of, the nervous energy and tension that can build up during these playoff matches is much more akin to a cup tie, rather than league game.
Dealing mentally and emotionally with the pressure of the occasion is certainly part of the battle that the players have to overcome. Of course, the tactics employed by the two managers play a key role too, but as Jedinak says, having people who have been there and done it, makes things a lot easier. That’s especially the case for those who haven’t experienced it before.
Such know-how certainly doesn’t give a decisive edge but should offer us an important extra hope that we will have the composure during the crucial moments of the tie against Boro.
The manager’s experience of these two-legged ties is also an additional bonus. Unless you play in European knockout competitions or in the semi-final of the League Cup, you are not going to experience this type of match.
It is four halves of football, and while you can’t win it in the first leg, you can certainly lose it with a heavy defeat. With all this being said, it will be decided by whoever puts in the best performances, but with the playoff knowledge we possess, it certainly bodes well for us.
