League One play-off final RECAP: Blackpool take on Lincoln City in Wembley showdown

While Wembley isn’t open to full capacity due to government restrictions, there will still be 10,000 supporters inside the stadium this afternoon.

That number will consist of around 4,000 Seasiders, 4,000 Lincoln fans and 2,000 sponsors, delegates and official dignitaries.

A number of Pool fans made their way down to Wembley yesterday to make a weekend of it on this Bank Holiday, but the majority will be setting off early this morning.

Make sure to post your best pictures to Twitter adorning your famous tangerine jerseys, flags and banners accompanied by the #utmp hashtag. We’ll then post the best tweets to this blog.

“The second leg of the Sunderland game couldn’t have been any better preparation. It was almost a dream in the sense that they suffered in the first half as much as they did.

“To be put under that much pressure by the opposition, who pressed the life out of them, being in a stadium with the home fans getting on their backs, it was a great experience.

“For them to come through that that should serve as motivation.

“Without sounding too cliché, it’s about playing the game and not the occasion. There’s a lot of truth in that.

“First and foremost, you’re there to beat the opposition. There’s a few ways of doing that. First and foremost, we need to make sure we turn up and start well. We need to play better than we did in the first half on Saturday.

“Secondly, we need to respect the opposition and know what their strengths are and try to limit them to as few opportunities as possible.

“It’s very difficult because of the size of the game but it’s about getting the players to focus on the 95, 98 minutes, whatever it is, rather than what’s going on around them.”

“Whenever you reach a final, you can’t wait for that game to get going. The sooner the game comes along, the better for us. It’s a game we’re all looking forward to.

“It’s been a good season so far, but we want it to be a great season. It all comes down to one game between two good teams and whoever wins will be deserving of going up into the Championship. Obviously we hope that it’s us.

“We’ve had a good season, we have. If you look at the things we’ve been through and the highs and lows and the start we had, then I’ve got nothing but praise for the players for the way they’ve adapted and improved.

“The consistency we have shown has been outstanding, but I’ve said on many occasions I know the strength of the squad we’ve got and the quality we’ve got in the dressing room, so my job is to always challenge them and make sure I get the best out of them.

“I think they’ve done that, but we’re not quite finished yet.”

The Seasiders are sweating over the fitness of Dan Ballard, who suffered a groin strain during the second leg of Blackpool’s play-off semi-final against Oxford.

The Arsenal loanee (pictured with Elliot Embleton, above) was brought off at half-time as a precaution and initially it was hoped the knock wouldn’t be too serious. But, speaking during Tuesday’s press day, Neil Critchley revealed the key defender still hadn’t trained.

Nevertheless, Pool’s head coach remained hopeful the centre-back could still play some part, in what will be his final game of his loan spell.

Elsewhere, the Seasiders are also hopeful of having Grant Ward (calf) and Sullay Kaikai (hamstring) back in contention after the duo missed both legs of Blackpool’s semi-final win against Oxford. Ward and Kaikai suffered the knocks during the recent win against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

Daniel Gretarsson (shoulder), Matty Virtue (ACL) and CJ Hamilton (metertarsal) are all definitely out through injury, while Bez Lubala remains unavailable due to a ‘club matter’.

As for Lincoln, centre-back Adam Jackson has been ruled out by Michael Appleton, while Joe Walsh, TJ Eyoma and Lewis Montsma are all injury doubts.

An entire season’s worth of football - 46 league games plus two play-off semi-final ties - comes down to this, the League One play-off final at Wembley.

Around 4,000 Seasiders will cheer on Neil Critchley’s men from the national stadium, hoping their heroes can secure a return to the Championship six years on from their acrimonious relegation.

Blackpool head into today’s game in fine form, having won their last four games of the season without conceding a goal, before beating Oxford United 3-0 in the first leg of their semi-final, before getting the job done with a 3-3 draw at Bloomfield Road.

But Lincoln also have plenty of momentum on their side, having edged past Sunderland 3-2 in their semi-final tie. The Imps have enjoyed a meteoric rise up the leagues over the last few years, starting with promotion from non-league in 2017. A win against Blackpool today would clinch second tier football for the club for the first time since 1961.

The Seasiders, meanwhile, will be out to prove their tag of being England’s play-off specialists, having previously won promotion via this route on five occasions from their eight campaigns. Their record in the play-offs is so good, they’ve actually won 17 of the 25 games they’ve taken part in.

And welcome to today’s live blog.

So this is it...how are the nerves? Just 90 minutes stand in-between Blackpool and a return to the Championship. But Lincoln City stand in their way in today’s League One play-off final.

Follow our blog for all the build-up, team news and action from this afternoon’s Wembley showdown.

Try not to bite those nails too much!