Can Gareth Ainsworth end Wembley woes and take Wycombe Wanderers up?

Gareth Ainsworth said it would be an honour to rewrite the history books with Wycombe Wanderers as he bids to make it third time lucky at Wembley.

Wycombe go into the Sky Bet League One play-off final against local rivals Oxford with a chance of reaching the second tier for the first time in the club’s 133-year history.

Manager Ainsworth suffered penalty shootout heartache with Wanderers on his previous visit to the national stadium in the 2015 League Two play-off final, while he played for Preston when they were beaten by his current team at the same stage back in 1994.

Ainsworth is currently English football’s longest-serving manager having taken over at Adams Park in September 2012.

The club almost fell out of the EFL six years ago and would have been facing an uncertain future but for a 3-0 success at Torquay on the final day of the season which meant they scraped survival on goal difference. He admits that tense experience puts the play-off final into perspective.

Monday evening’s winner-takes-all clash will be played behind closed doors at the 90,000-seater national stadium because of coronavirus restrictions.

Ainsworth says his side’s success is inspiring a fresh generation of Wycombe fans, who are shunning the temptation to follow Premier League clubs in favour of backing their local team.

He believes securing Championship football for next season would be sufficient compensation for those unable to attend the showpiece event.

Ainsworth added that schoolchildren were now wearing Wycombe shirts instead of historically "all the Premier League and London clubs that have been dominating this area for so long."