PUBLISHED
13:29 13th May 2013
by Adam Tighe
Winger Will Buckley has urged Albion not to let the occasion get the better of them in their play-off semi-final second leg.
The Seagulls have home advantage as they aim to claim a place in the play-off final and the nine-goal midfielder is not allowing any complacency slip into the side's mentality.*
He told seagulls.co.uk, “We are confident but we are not taking it lightly; we have to stay level headed as we need to be fully focused. We know if we play like we can then we can get the result.
“We knew it was always going to be tough at their place, and hopefully we know what to expect at the Amex as well.
“But anything can happen as it is a one-off game and when it comes to the day things can be changed, so you just have to take it as it comes.”
The midfielder admitted that it is hard to completely ignore the rivalry when taking on Palace but feels the Albion faithful can play a big part the Seagulls’ success.
“It makes you more aware of how much the game means to the fans more than anyone. But we just want to play the game now and it cannot get here quick enough. It will be a tough game but we are looking forward to it. Everyone knows the significance, which makes it that much more special and it can fire you up more.
“Every game this season we would prefer to play at home because we don’t lose many here, and we usually pass the ball better and keep control. We enforce our game more just like Palace did in the second half on Friday, so with 30,000 people behind us that home advantage can make a massive difference.”
Meanwhile, Buckley’s former club Watford booked their place in the final yesterday in dramatic fashion but the 23-year-old is only focused on tonight's match.
“Tonight is the biggest game of my career as we are not far away from the Premier League where everyone wants to be but hopefully there is one more bigger game to come. It will be a memorable night and hopefully for the right reasons.
“It would be nice to face my old club but the stakes are too big to think about that at the moment. I am just concentrating on tonight's game."
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