Mansfield aim to end over 20 years of hurt

The Stags haven’t been to Wembley since reaching the Freight Rover Trophy final in 1987, but lead 1-0 from the first leg at Field Mill on Sunday.

Winger Ashley Cain, who had a brief loan spell at Kenilworth Road last season but had his one appearance chalked off after the demise of Chester City, has admitted he has let his mind wander.

The 20-year-old said: “As a young boy I remember all the big international games and all the best players from your country and in the world playing at Wembley.

“It is somewhere that every young lad wants to play and I didn’t think as a young lad I would ever get the chance myself.

“But now suddenly it is only one game away, only 90 minutes from gracing that pitch like all those great players, and I want to take the opportunity while I have it.

“It is crazy to think I wasn’t even alive the last time Mansfield played at Wembley, but it would be a massive for the club to get there and a massive buzz.

“It would be unbelievable to go down in the club’s history. Winning the FA Trophy would give the club a fantastic lift going into next season.

“But we know we still have a big job to do down at Luton to even get to Wembley because they will come out fighting strongly.

“The clean sheet at home was huge for us, but we know Luton will be a different team at home than they were away.

“They will push and drive hard at us, really come at us, so it’s important we are ready for that test.

“It could be massively important to get goals and it would certainly be naive of us to go and think we can hang on to a one-goal advantage.

“We can’t just go there to play for a draw. If we don’t go for things then we will leave ourselves vulnerable.

“The good thing is the defence has been playing better of late than earlier in the year.

“But it may be that we have to score a goal there to go through and the good thing is that is what we are best at.

“They say attack is the best form of defence and that is certainly true with us, so we will go to look to win the game.”

“I think we will get chances and all the lads know that they have to make them count.

“I think if we can overcome the Luton hurdle then we have a great chance of winning it.

“They are the biggest side left in the competition and have some players of real pedigree.

“But we can’t let chances like this slip and I think there is a lot of determination in the camp. There is certainly a massive buzz.”

Meanwhile, striker Paul Connor, who at 32 is at the other end of his footballing career, is looking to finally realise his Wembley ambition.

He failed to make the bench at Middlesbrough when his former club lost the 1998 League Cup final to Chelsea and not want to miss out again.

Connor added: “I’ve come this close again and I’m going to give it my all.

“At this part of my career...when you get to this age you start to think ‘Am I ever going to get another chance?’.

“I was involved in the squad (for Middlesbrough v Chelsea) but I never made the bench.

“That was when I was 19 and I haven’t been back since. I got there at 19 and involved in it but never got on the pitch

“We know what it means to the club and the fans and the players as well. A lot of players haven’t had the chance to play there.”