Play-off pain
Warnock, Johnson and Blackwell share their play-off memories.
Last updated: 5th May 2008
Warnock & Johnson
If you're going to enjoy the play-offs then you've got to win because if you get beat then you've really got to pick your club up.
Gary Johnson
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Your nerves are probably still shredded after a tense final day of the Championship season, but there's plenty of nail-biting to come as we enter the end-of-season play-offs.
Hull, Bristol City, Watford and Crystal Palace will all be scrapping it out to reach the Premier League next season and Soccer Extra invited three men to the studio who know all about the drama of the post-season battle.
Crystal Palace boss Neil Warnock and Bristol City's Gary Johnson will go head-to-head in the semi-finals and both men joined Paul Boardman and Chris Kamara on the sofa to chat about their previous experiences of the play-offs.
They were joined by Sheffield United boss Kevin Blackwell, who narrowly missed out on a top-six place this season, but has plenty of knowledge of the post-season push for the Premier League.
And all three of them were agreed that the play-offs are a fantastic experience if you win - but defeat can be damaging for any club.
Warnock told us: "I don't think there's any favourites in the play-offs.
"It could go down to the bounce of a ball, a decision, a piece of brilliance by one player - and all the clubs have the type of player who could pull something out of the hat.
"From our point of view, we're just glad to be in the play-offs and the thing to our advantage is that the other three clubs have all thought they could get into the automatic positions at some stage this season.
"If we don't get any further then we've still had a great season and that's the only difference for us. I'll be telling the youngsters to enjoy it if they can because the atmosphere of the play-offs is hard.
"When I was at Sheffield United, we lost to Wolves in Cardiff and the hotel afterwards was like a morgue.
"But Kevin and I were there when we beat Forest 4-3 and it was the most fantastic game I've ever been involved in.
"I remember seeing Paul Hart after that game and he was absolutely distraught.
"Forest just went after that. They went down another division and I think that game killed them and it's taken them until now to get back up."
Recover
Johnson has also experienced the joy and pain of the play-offs and agrees that the disappointment of losing after a long, hard season can leave deep scars on teams and players - but that victory can take a side to new heights.
He said: "I was assistant manager with John Beck at Cambridge when we went through all the divisions.
"We played in the first Wembley play-off final against Chesterfield and we went up another two divisions, but they went down one. It took them a long time to recover.
"We had a fantastic run after that final win when Dion Dublin scored the goal. So I've got good memories of Wembley.
"If you're going to enjoy the play-offs then you've got to win because if you get beat then you've really got to pick your club up."
Blackwell has tasted defeat in the Championship play-off final with both Sheffield United and Leeds, but he still feels the play-offs are a great idea.
He said: "I think it's sometimes down to whether the players can lift themselves because it's a fantastic occasion. It's cut and thrust and it's time for the big players to step up to the plate.
"It's an awful feeling to lose in the play-offs because you've gone all the way through the season and it all comes down to one game.
"The final is the richest game in world sport and it's tough to pick the lads up if you lose."
