You spend all week playing it down in your head, you tell yourself you have had a superb season and that no mater what happens that will stay the same.
You have won promotion to the top flight, something you did not think you could ever do, you have reached the final of the cup , the final , you had a dream of making the semis one day, so this is beyond that.
You sit there on monday evening and set your side and tactics and declare yourself happy. At the end of the day your up against the current best side in the entire league, the top flight leaders with a game to go, so you know realistically it will be a huge ask.
You have faced your opponents once before , again in the cup where they beat you on penalties and inside you kind of accept they will beat you again.
But, and its a big but, it is the cup final, and you are effectively 90 mins off the Xpert Champions league. You still can't understand how or why you have got there, but you are there.
And as each day passes you find your checking your tactics again and again, your tweaking the line up, do you go with what you think is your strongest formation, or do you go to try and make them incorrectly counter you to gain that slight advantage.
Suddenly you realise that whether or not you have done great to even get there, you now want to win it more than anything. You sit staring at the clock, counting down to 17:30 UK time, it can't come quick enough.
But yet you carry on playing it down, its only a game, you have already exceeded expectations, you will lose to the better side.
But as much as you keep playing it down, no-one will ever believe you.
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