“We’re coming to the end of the season and it would be brilliant to end it with a little bit of silverware, after not having the best of seasons. We’ve been playing well recently, so it would be good to end it like that. Everyone’s really motivated. It’s coming towards the end of the season, but everyone’s still working hard. Everyone could down tools and think, ‘it’s the summer’, but we’re still working hard and it’s a chance to get some silverware. Ben has really drummed it into us that we’ve still got a game to go, and that it’s an important game and we could win something.
“I’m expecting a tough, competitive game. I think they’ll be right at it, playing at St. James’ as well. It’s a big stadium and they’ll thrive on playing there. They’ll be straight out of the traps at us, and we need to be focused and ready. But I think all the lads thrive on that, they love playing at St. James’. It’s got more of a first team atmosphere around it, and it should be good to play there again.
“I think individually I was good at the start of the season, and then the team took a little bit of a dip and I got injured. Around Christmas time I had a double hernia, but since I’ve come back I think I’ve done well. We’ve been picking up wins, and we got a clean sheet the other day against Villa which was very important, so coming towards the end of the season I think we’re finishing strongly. I’ve had a run of games, and I think I’ve thrived off that. Playing every couple of days I think has been the best thing for me.”