Aidy's View: Crystal Palace (h)

Last updated : 23 May 2006 By Gary Calder

First things first, I'd like to thank you for your fantastic support last night. It was the best atmosphere that I've seen at Vicarage Road and was a big help in us getting through.

It's now important to keep in mind that we've all got a big job to do in Cardiff and that includes you, our tremendous supporters. Because of that, I hope you weren't too disappointed by the team's lack of celebrations on the pitch at the final whistle last night. I'm sure you understood.

Up to this point, all that we have done is get to the final but that won't mean anything unless we win it. Last summer, I said that this season may be 49 games long and that we had to be prepared for that, and that's how it's turned out.

Make no mistake, we'll be the underdogs when we take on Leeds United, but we like it like that. There's no comparison between the budgets of the two clubs but it's amazing what you can achieve when you've got a group of committed, organised and disciplined people all pulling together, as we have at this club.

The performance against Crystal Palace was not our best of the season but it was the resilience that saw us through. I think it was fair to say that the match was not one for the purist, but that's no surprise considering the tension involved.

The three days building up to the match were the most pressure-packed I've experienced in my career but the way we dealt with it tells me that we're more than ready for the challenges we'll face in Cardiff.

No doubt you saw the fracas I had on the touchline in the second half last night. The situation taught me two things; that I shouldn't be quite so enthusiastic in trying to get the ball back into play so quickly and that the team played better without me on the sideline!

We've got one more challenge to overcome this season and I'm sure that, with your support, we can do so.

Come On!

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