Brentford take on Swansea at Wembley Stadium in the Championship play-off final looking to book their place in next season’s Premier League.
The heartache of last year’s final, with Fulham edging out their London rivals 2-1 thanks to a double from Joe Bryan, sets up a redemption story for Thomas Frank’s side in what is known as ‘The Richest Game in Football’.
And the Danish coach believes last year’s experience, despite being negative, will boost their chances of finally jumping up to English football’s top tier: “I think it is a plus – how big a plus you don’t really know. That experience from being there last year will help in a way, but it is not like we are suddenly 20% better. It might help in the decisive moments. It will be a tight game which will go down to the finest of margins. It is very important we do everything we can to be brave and make sure that when we look back we do not regret anything.”
While Swans head coach Steve Cooper insists promotion “would mean everything” for the Welsh club: “The club has been there before, long before I was here, and that journey was a special one. Then it was taken away through relegation, the club has had to re-establish itself with a different identity and rebuild. We’ve got to this last game of the season and given ourselves a 50-50 chance of winning. It’s something we’ve got to really go for. It would mean everything to the city and everything to the club, and everyone’s aware of that. It’s a massive motivation for us to get the job done.”
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