Former Chelsea youth defender says it would be 'very cool' to win at Wembley as captain of Crawley Town

Conroy, who played in the Chelsea youth system, never got the opportunity of first team football at the Blues but remembered watching them at Wembley stadium when he was younger. From that to now captaining Crawley Town in their first ever appearance at Wembley Stadium for the League Two playoff final, the defender is just one game away from lifting a trophy at the ground.

Conroy spoke about his feelings in the build up to the game and said: “I've been to a lot of semi finals, finals when I was a youngster at Chelsea, I used to get tickets so it has always been a dream for me to play there along with all the boys.

“To do it as captain would be very cool, there is no point getting to the final and not winning so that is all that is on our mind right now.

“I look forward to leading the team out and hopefully lifting the trophy.”

He also added: “It’s a dream, to walk out onto that pitch in front of your family, friends and the fans. I’m just super excited and cant wait.”

Conroy had a gut feeling that Crawley would get to this stage of the league even after dropping points against both Sutton and Colchester.

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He said: “There was no way we were not getting the playoffs even after drawing to Sutton losing to Colchester I just had that feeling we weren’t gonna miss it. Its just one of those feelings you get in your gut instinct.”

The semi final saw Crawley demolish MK Dons 8-1 on aggregate with many Crawley fans preparing for the final after the first leg when they were 3-0 up. Without getting ahead of himself Conroy mentioned when he started thinking about the final at Wembley.

He said: “I started thinking about in the first leg when were 2-0 nil up. I really did, no disrespect to MK Dons but it just felt like it was gonna happen, the way we were playing in the first leg and it was strange I just had a feeling it was gonna happen.

“Obviously in the second leg we score early on and start dominating the ball, it was just a real enjoyment being out on that pitch, and I kinda knew we would get it done.”

Playing at Wembley is a special occasion for any footballer but being the captain of your team is an even bigger occasion for any player. Conroy spoke about his thoughts of captaining Crawley at Wembley and how important this day is for the fans.

He said: “They're (fans) gonna have a great day out but we’re trying to win it for them so they can celebrate for the rest of the summer and look forward to it next year and hopefully be in league one.

“Its an absolute privilege to walk out as captain for this club and be the first person to do it. We know how much it means to the fans and were gonna work as hard as we can to make sure we win.”

He also spoke about his personal thoughts ahead of the trip to London. He stated that he has not: “really thought about it too much, im just really trying to focus everything for the Sunday because it means so much but im sure as soon as the days over, we've done what we needed to do and I can reflect back on it and it is a incredible achievement to be the first person to do that.

Speaking about whether or not Crawley Town can win the final he said: “I definitely feel confident that we can do it. Crewe are a very good team but so are we.”

This week’s Crawley Observer has an 8-page special celebrating Reds going to Wembley – you can order a copy here.