MANAGER: It's the best chance we have of getting to Wembley

Manager John Sheridan confirmed today that he’ll be looking to win tonight’s final Group A Checkatrade Trophy fixture against the Stoke City under-21 side with progression to the knock-out stages a priority.

“The Checkatrade Trophy is our best chance of getting to a cup final, so we’ll be going into the game tonight trying to win it,” he said. “I told the players on Saturday that I want to win this game as much as I wanted to win that one at Crewe.

“If Stoke win they qualify, and we also need to win to qualify, so it will be a good game. They’ll put a strong team out with a couple of experienced players in there, but we’ll be playing as strong a team as we can and looking to do the job.”

“Like I say, I’ll be playing as strong a team as I can. There are one or two who have picked up niggles, so we’ll take a look at that before we make a final decision.

“Jamie Devitt got a dead leg on his calf at the weekend, and Anthony Gerrard picked up the same, so we’ll see how people are.”

“I’m realistic and I know this competition is the best chance we have of getting to Wembley. I’m fortunate to have won this competition as a manager and it’s another one which can earn you a few quid.

“It’s something I’ll take very seriously and hopefully it’ll be an entertaining game.”

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