Mat Sadler with determined message to his Walsall squad ahead of play-off final
Boss Mat Sadler has called on his Walsall players to "finish the job" in a moment of crowning glory at Wembley.
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Walsall lock horns with AFC Wimbledon in the play-off final at the national stadium on Monday for a place in League One.
Sadler's troops - who missed out on automatic promotion in the final seconds of the regular season - prevailed with an impressive 4-1 aggregate success over Chesterfield while the Dons saw off Notts County 2-0.
Now the head coach wants to see his players deliver the goods on the biggest stage under the Wembley arch in the final game of the campaign.
"We're looking forward to it, of course. Last Friday night was great, a great experience for everyone at the club," Sadler, 40, said.
"I thought we played very well and it was a really good team performance over the two legs. Now we want to back that up and obviously finish the job.
"For us it's a great week, a real thing to look forward to. We want to build up throughout the week, get things like today (media day) out the way and lead up to Monday afternoon."
In sealing promotion back to the third tier after six seasons away, Walsall's class of 2024/25 would make history in being the first Saddlers team to win at Wembley. The only previous effort, 10 years ago, ended in a 2-0 EFL Trophy defeat.
Sadler, his staff and players used a day off earlier this week to travel to the capital and take in the stadium and familiarise themselves with surroundings. The club will travel down the day before Bank Holiday Monday's final, in line with their regular routine.
"I'm conscious of that, I don't want to do too much in the week, we want to get the loads right as we want them," Sadler said. "Everybody's eyes are straight on it. There was an incredible outpouring of emotion but straight away we are focused on it."
The head coach added: "It never changed (having a job to do) in my message after Friday. We enjoyed it and I really wanted them to.
"The pitch is a vulnerable place, in big moments and games, but we had a day to enjoy it as a really tight-knit group together. But we're ready to work."
