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Kieran Lee knows the hopes of a whole town will be resting on Wanderers’ shoulders when they step out at Wembley on Sunday.
It is expected more than 34,000 Bolton fans will flock to the Papa Johns Trophy final against Plymouth Argyle, hoping to see the club win at the new stadium for the very first time.
Lee has sampled defeat at Wembley before – wearing the colours of Sheffield Wednesday as they lost out to Hull City for a place in the Premier League in 2016.
And he knows as well as anyone in the Bolton camp that the joy and celebration which will follow the Whites down to the capital can quickly disappear if performance levels are not right on the day.
“It’s a massive game,” said the experienced midfielder. “You can see that just by the number of fans that are travelling to the game.
“I’ve played there before and I’d hope this time it will be a lot more positive. But there are other lads who haven’t played at Wembley, haven’t even been to Wembley, so it is a big occasion, and we have to make sure we perform.
“We have known how many have been sold as it went along – one of the lads will come into training and say it’s ‘this many’ and it’s great that so many people are prepared to travel down for us.
“It is no surprise, Bolton is a big club and we know the fans look to get behind us so it will be a good atmosphere down there.
“It will be exciting for all the lads. And at this stage of my career, which is probably coming towards the latter end, I am really looking forward to playing.”
Ian Evatt and his side will take a tour of the Wembley facilities on Saturday afternoon before heading back to the team hotel to rest up for the day ahead.
Lee expects that he and other senior figures in the dressing room will come into their own in the hours leading up to kick-off, helping to keep players relaxed and positive.
“Us more experienced lads can help the younger ones know what to expect,” he said.
“There are other experienced lads who have been there, not just me, and been in situations like this, so we will help them out.
“Deep down you are excited but we have tried to keep it business as normal, treat it like a normal away game. I think that is the best way to do it.”
Lee signed for Wanderers as a free agent on January 8, 2021, with the club 16th in League Two and just six points off the relegation zone.
Just over two years later, he is heading for a domestic cup final and hoping for a return visit to Wembley in the League One play-offs later this season.
“The couple of years I have been here, the strides from then to now have been massive, so obviously we need to keep going. We want to win promotion and we now there is a long way to go yet but I think things are looking up,” he added.
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