Wycombe host Charlton in the first leg of their League One play-off on Sunday night having lost their final three games to slip from second to fifth as Wrexham benefited from their struggles
Mike Dodds has told his Wycombe Wanderers players to forget about their late-season fade and seize the chance of Wembley glory. The Chairboys lost their last three matches against the other play-off hopefuls as automatic promotion slipped away.
That included a four-goal drubbing at the hands of semi-final opponents Charlton Athletic at Adams Park. But rather than stew on their slide from the second place eventually taken by Wrexham to fifth in two nightmare weeks, Dodds has been asking his players to remember the bigger picture.
“It’s disappointing that we didn’t get automatic promotion but the message this week is going over all the positives that, you know, you can’t lose sight that we are a really, really good team.
“When we left Bolton [after winning 2-0] with three games to go, if you had said we would have lost the next three, I wouldn’t have believed you because we were in a good spot.
“For me, as a young coach, the last three games were a harsh lesson about how things could turn very quickly.
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“I thought we were in a solid position but then we conceded four goals against Charlton and three at Stockport, so of course, there is disappointment.
“We can talk about form, but I don’t see it like that. There have been plenty of examples where teams have gone into the play-offs not winning and have gone on to be very successful.
“The mood around camp is positive and good. We have some senior players who have been here before, so they know the magnitude and the emotions that come with the two games, which we are looking forward to. Everyone is positive and upbeat.”
Dodds added: “For the next two, and hopefully, three games, the fans will be everything for us. When they are in fine voice, they help the team, and we can’t do this by ourselves.
“This is one thing I will stress. If they keep banging that drum, singing and getting behind the team, we’ll do everything we can to put a smile on their face.”
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