Follow the Leader

ARGYLE skipper Curtis Nelson says that all of his teammates including himself and are heading to Wembley with only one thing on their mind.

Winning. 

Curtis first took to the turf at Home Park in August 2010, and will be the second man to lead Argyle out at Wembley when he does so on Monday - after Mick Heathcote, who led out the Pilgrims in 1996 - and also had winning on his mind.

"We do think about winning," said Curtis. "We don't think about anything else other than winning so it is important that we keep it that way. We have just got to play the game and then deal with whatever comes after.

"If the home leg is anything to go by it is probably going to be twice as loud so it is not going to be too bad at all. Once you have heard the first noise I think you are going to go back into game mode. That's it once the whistle goes, you do not really hear anything else you are just fully in on the game.

"It is going to be unbelievable, we have got 34,000 so it is going to be ridiculous and it is massive to have that support for us. The second-leg was brilliant, with the support that we had. The first-leg was as well, with the away support. I think that is something that we have had all season - the support from the fans has been really good.

"There is a good positive vibe. We had a good training session this morning (Thursday), and have done a lot of media this afternoon, but that will be the last of it and then we will crack on to the weekend.

"We have gone four games unbeaten now. Cambridge, Hartlepool and the two Portsmouth games, so we have got to make sure we make it a fifth.

"It would mean everything to the team. That is the main aim from the beginning of the season so it is the ultimate goal. It is now just making sure that we achieve it."

Derek Adams gave his players a short break after the victory over Portsmouth, which Curtis said was really useful. Furthermore, the squad were eased back into action with some light-hearted training, which Curtis said was the best way to prepare for the final.

"It has been the best way to do it," said Curtis. "It was light-hearted. We have got to enjoy what we are doing and make sure that now it is getting close to the game we start to tighten up and increase the intensity.

"It was not necessarily letting off steam, it was recovery really. It has been a long season, we are four or five weeks away from pre-season already. We have been non-stop for nearly 11 months so it is good to just get two or three days away just to recharge our batteries both mentally and physically."

Curtis said that he thinks it is important that the Pilgrims stick to what they know in preparation for Wembley, and prepare as they would for any other game. He was asked how much he had been told about Wembley in preparation for the day.

"Not too much yet," said Curtis. "We have still been training like normal. I think when we get close to the game we will start getting more advice on things like that. We will just focus on the game and not the occasion.

"We have kept the week exactly the same as it normally would be. We are not going to do anything out of the ordinary for the occasion. I think it is important that we do stay the same and we just treat it as a normal game. Obviously it will be a different stadium with a bigger support behind us but we have just got to play the game of football."

Argyle are beginning to prepare for their opponents AFC Wimbledon who finished 7th in League 2. The Dons beat Argyle 2-1 at Home Park in April which was the last occasion the two teams met. Adebayo Akinfenwa scored two minutes from time to give the Dons the points.

"We have learned a few bits and pieces [about AFC Wimbledon]," said Curtis. "We are going to start going through that in the game prep in the next couple of days.

"Every team has got different strengths and weaknesses and you have got to exploit them and play to the best of our ability and that is all we can do.

"He seems to be talked about," said Curtis about Akinfenwa. "He is good at what he does. He is a physical presence but it is just making sure that you deal with that."

Curtis' family are coming to watch him at Wembley - and hopefully see Argyle promoted to League 1.

"They are going to be coming and joining us there, they will be watching so they are looking forward to it. They are excited, they are proud."

They are not the only ones, Skip.