Martin Wild speaks with Paul Simpson

Town boss Paul Simpson was in relaxed mode when I caught up with him this afternoon at Wembley, ahead of tomorrow's showdown with Gillingham. It was 24 hours to kick-off as we looked out across the lush turf, and Simmo's first impressions whetted his appetite still further.

"It's an absolutely magnificent place," he said. "It's got that 'Wow!' factor that I expected it to have, and that was the reason for wanting to come and have a look at it today. I wanted everyone to get that 'wow' out of the way now, while it was empty. It will be even more when we step out here tomorrow, but it's a fantastic stadium and one that you tend to build your dreams on, and let's just hope they come true.

"It's everything that you want and the surface is wonderful. I find it incredible that people have been asking me in interviews this week if I was worried about the surface at Wembley. I don't think you can worry about that out there; it's like a billiard table. I hope we can go out and put on a performance that does ourselves justice on it."

At 3o'clock this afternoon the place was deserted, save for the club representatives and those putting the finishing touches to this dramatic arena. I asked if it takes on a completely different look with 50 or 60 thousand people in it.

"It does yeah. And I think tomorrow you can add in the nerves from the game, the expectation, the fans. All sorts of things like that with your friends and family watching too. That adds that little extra touch to it. We've had the 'wow' factor today, we'll have the family, the occasion and the atmosphere tomorrow and we'll try to give everybody a performance."

It's the first of the play-off finals and Town have had longer to wait than most, since securing that dramatic penalty shoot-out win at Bury to book their place nearly two weeks ago. Simpson said it hadn't been difficult to keep his players focused though.

"Last week was a good week because we trained and we broke it up with a game of golf. The players are completely focused. They know what's at stake and what we want them to do. This week's been excellent in training. They've been so hyped up about it but we've just tried to keep a little lid on things and not allow them to get too excited, or too carried away. I'm quite sure that come 3 o'clock tomorrow afternoon, there will still be a helluva lot of energy and enthusiasm.

"We've prepared slightly differently for the game. We came down a day earlier than normal. We're doing all the same things in training with set pieces and trying to keep things as normal as we can do. But we know it's not a normal league game because there's so much at stake. We want to go to Leeds next year and Southampton and Charlton. We want to play at those sorts of stadiums and that's where we want to be next year. This is an excellent stage in which to go and earn that right."

We spoke briefly about tomorrow's opponents, Gillingham. Whilst many would have made references to the early season 7-0 win over the Gills, I asked whether the late comeback at the Priestfield Stadium in March, had given his side the belief that they could finally get it together away from fortress Prostar.

"It did yeah," said Simpson, "without a doubt. I thought the overall performance down there was excellent and in all honesty, but for a magnificent save by Royce we would have nicked the win right at the death. We could and should have won it. But they know that they're in for a tough game tomorrow, and we know what a good side they are. Over 46 games they were a better side than us - the league table will confirm that. In our two games against each other, we were the better side. This is the third one now and we've got to make sure we go out and do it properly."

Simmo has experienced the play-offs before, and win or lose, he felt it was important to try and savour the occasion.

"I think when you make it to a Wembley final, you have to try and make it an occasion to remember, whatever the result. That's what I'm looking at coming into the game. I may never come here again or be involved in a game like this again. So I want to savour it and enjoy it. The result makes the day though, and if you prepare right and get the result we all want, it's the type of game that you'll remember for the rest of your life.

"If you can win a final to get promotion - especially with it being back in our National stadium, and I don't want to disrespect the Millennium Stadium when I say that - there's no better place to do it. You look at Man United celebrating winning the Premier League, and Torquay celebrating getting back in the league, and Shaktar Donesk winning the UEFA Cup in midweek. There's only one place to be after a final, and that's celebrating, and let's hope we're the ones celebrating tomorrow.

"It would be a wonderful achievement to see our captain lift that trophy tomorrow. It's a sight that I really hope I get to see, and it's one that we will always remember forever if we can achieve that."

The players were all out with their camcorders and digital cameras recording the images of a truly memorable occasion. They all looked completely relaxed, but what plans were being laid to ensure that they stayed that way for another 24 hours?

"We'll just go back to the hotel and try to keep everyone as calm as we can," said the Shrews boss. "We've got a little motivational film that I want them all to see. We'll let them go back to their rooms with some goody bags we'll give them, that contain all their fluids and sachets of stuff to help them get through the night. Tomorrow there are bound to be nerves, excitement and a little bit of anxiety creeping in. Tomorrow isn't just the play-off final. I see it as our 49th league game of a long, hard season. I want them to go away with a positive memory from an enjoyable day."

The mood in the camp then, was brighter than the Wembley sunshine. This famous sporting arena - some would say the most famous on the planet - will be no place for the faint-hearted on Saturday afternoon!