Mention play-offs to Lee Bullen and you'll draw a warm smile of reflection from Ayr United's manager.
As a player, he owes his greatest day in the game to the end of season format which saw him gain promotion with Sheffield Wednesday at Cardiff's Millenium Stadium.
Bullen skippered the Owls in front of 60,000 fans as they beat Hartlepool United back in 2005 to make the English Championship. It was a day which saw he and his teammates written into Hillsborough folklore. The occasion is one which Bullen readily admits he will never forget and now, as he approaches a play-off campaign as boss at Somerset, he wants to harness those memories to inspire his own players.
He told the Ayrshire Post: "People will have their own views on the play-offs and I’ve seen both sides of the coin as a player and coach down south. But gaining promotion to the Championship with Wednesday was the pinnacle of my career. Those are the days you remember as a player. They stay with you forever. Whether it be as player, a coach, a manager or a supporter...you dream about those occasions. The excitement generated by the play-offs is second to none and our lads must go and embrace it.”
Ayr kick off their potential route to the Premiership tomorrow night with a trip to Partick Thistle, fresh from the Jags' quarter-final win over Queen's Park. A big crowd will descend on Firhill for the first of two live televised clashes with the return leg at Somerset next Friday night. United, for their part, are aiming to return to Scotland's top division for the first time since 1978.
Bullen added: “The first leg takes care of itself – that’s all we can focus on at the moment. There’s plenty we can draw on from previous games against them and we know we can hurt them. We’ve had a good week to 10 days of training under our belt and we are raring to go.
“We go into this with nothing to fear, but we also know that Partick will be many people’s favourites. But we’re fine with that – it’s up to us to show our quality over the two legs. We will take a big support on Friday night and the players have earned that support over the course of the season. This is an occasion for the lads to relish and hopefully they grab the chance with both hands.”
