For Sunday.................................

I know of no other way to express myself, so I will just speak from the heart, and hope for the best.

This is THE fixture, no other even comes close to it. This game elicits emotions so raw, that even now after all these years, it still surprises me. Gentlemen, for 90 minutes, you have the chance to become Gods. This game only comes round once in a while, so treasure the moment as if it were your very last on a football pitch.

Know that when you cross that white line at 12 noon, that you carry with you the hopes, dreams and aspirations of thousands of men, women and children. People who would sacrifice anything just for the smallest of tastes of that which you are fortunate enough to experience. Also, know this. For the next 90 minutes, that will not just be a shirt with a badge on it you will be wearing. It is a statement of intent, a statement that says ‘we are who we are, we are Wednesday, we are going to make sure you know it and my God are we proud of it’.

I don’t care if you never put in another ounce of effort after this clash, just give it your all until the battle is done. Give it so much that you can feel your body aching to give in. Reach that point and then find it within yourself to give just that little bit more.

I’ve watched Wednesday for nigh on 30 years now and laid awake at night sometimes, or maybe just drifted off into daydream during the day and pictured myself scoring the winner at the Lane in the last minute and jumping into the away end full of Wednesdayites going berserk. I will never get to do that, but one of you chosen few could.

Please treat this fixture with the respect it deserves, a game by definition yes, but in reality we all know it is anything but.

Fight for every ball, go for the tackle you think you might not be able to pull off and if you don’t succeed, dust yourself down and try again. Fight for every blade of grass, for every set piece, for your team, for THAT badge, for pride and honour, but most of all for the fans.

Treat the enemy with the respect they rightfully deserve. If we win the day be magnanimous in victory, resist the urge to lower yourself to a base level. There will be no triumphalism. We will quietly slip away. The only praise and thanks we need or indeed will receive, is that of our fellow man. By the same token, if the enemy are victorious, then be gracious in defeat and offer them the praise that they are due. Be the better man.

Make no mistake, we are going somewhere we are not welcome and we are attempting to take that which is not ours. We will not achieve our aim lightly. We will encounter a foe that is both highly organised and fearless in equal measure. One which is familiar, yet one which will adapt to any set of circumstances and attempt to bring us to our knees. We cannot allow this.

If we go down, then we go down fighting. I want you to be able to look in your own heart and look your comrade next to you square in the eye after the battle is over and ask something of each. If you can ask the question ‘have I done enough to still be proud of myself’ and receive a yes, then you are still a man and can leave the field of conflict whatever the outcome with your head held high. If not, then you are a failure, it is that simple.

Get into the face of your enemy from the very off, ensure that they can see the intent in your eyes and you, the whites in theirs. Do not let them settle, keep them on the back foot. Deliver unto them a wrath of such epic proportions, the likes of which they will never before have seen, and one which they will carry with them until their last breath.

Gentlemen, you may choose to heed the words of an old fool such as myself or you may choose simply to cast them aside. Either way, you go with my utmost confidence and the best of wishes. I am indescribably proud of each and every one of you at this stage, all I ask of you now is that you magnify that feeling somewhat.

Now go out there…….. and unleash hell.

UP THE OWLS!!!!