Padraig Amond has been speaking to the media ahead of Newport County AFC against Salford City in the Semi-Final of the Leasing.Com Trophy.
The Irish striker is looking to book his third County appearance at Wembley on Wednesday, and could do so with his 50th goal for the Exiles.
Amond said, “It would be brilliant to hit the 50 tomorrow night but again, whoever scores and gets us to Wembley it doesn’t matter.
“Tomorrow night is just about getting a result by whatever means possible. It’s probably not going to be the prettiest of games, with the weather forecast and the pitch taking a bit of a battering. Fair play to the groundstaff, they’ve done a remarkable job to keep the pitch in as good a condition as they can.”
County’s last trip to Wembley ended in defeat and Amond believes this will act as extra incentive for Wednesday night, “It’s something we’re really looking forward to, we want to go back to Wembley and right the wrong of last year.
“I think it would be five times in eight years, which is an amazing achievement in itself considering the highs and lows the club has had over the last few years. You dream of winning trophies at Wembley and this is a great chance to win one.”
Like his manager Michael Flynn, Amond is full of admiration for opponents Salford City and the work they do locally, ”I think there’s probably mixed opinions on it, I think it’s fantastic.
“When I was in Manchester I lived about half a mile from Salford’s ground and I’ve seen what it was like seven years ago before they took over. Now, what they’ve done for the community around there is fantastic.
“It’s going to be a very tough game for us. They’re building a club there and they have a target of where they want to be, they want to win trophies as well. They’ve had that excitement of playing and winning at Wembley as well, so I’m sure those players will want to go back there again and win.”
As a cup game, it provides a break from the league, but Amond stated that the players are working hard to correct their league form, “We do have to do better on the pitch at times and that is down to us players, but the one thing is that we’re leaving everything on the pitch.
“Things can change very quickly and as a club, nobody knows that better than us. If the fans stick with us, we’ve seen there’s a lot more good times than bad times, and there’s a lot more good times to come.”