The Guardian from London, Greater London, England • 37

6 Football The Guardian Saturday May 24 2003 Lennie Lawrence has kept a cool English head as Welsh play-off passions have been Cardiff revolution set to take national stadium by storm lennium Stadium last autumn, has been critical. "If you defend deep, he's Premier League quality," stressed Lawrence. "I've been watching tht video of that 2-1 win to keep my confidence up," said the The anthems have since been dropped, though the nationalistic holler persists. "If you'd told me 18 months ago that we'd generate this much interest 1 would have been staggered. This shows what could happen here but the club needs to be in the First Division.

"The Leeds match in the FA Cup last season was big but this is a massive game for this club, a chance to get Cardiff City on the move. "Not too many Second Division play-off finals will attract 70,000 people but this is a big club waiting to happen. It's a huge occasion, though hopefully not as big as when we go through this to get into the Premier League. Failure to win tomorrow would just delay that happening." That much may be true, given Hammam's aspirations for the division's biggest spenders, though defeat tomorrow would most likely cut short Lawrence's involvement in the Cardiff revolution. The former Charlton and Middlesbrough manager rates the Millennium sell-out some The play-offs Firet Division Wolves Sheffield United Monday.

Millennium Stadium TV- Sky Sports 1 2pm (kick-off 3pm) Second Division CardiffCityvQPR Tomorrow, Millennium Stadium TV-Sky Sports 12pm (kick-off 3pm) Third Division Bournemouth Lincoln City Today, Millennium Stadium TV: Sky Sports 1 2pm (kick-off 3pm) 34,500 tickets have been snapped up by City, with QPR having sold 31,000 as "one of the top three or four" games in a coaching career stretching back a quarter of a century. His record in play-offs is patchy, last year's semi-final defeat by Stoke mirroring failure to escape this division with Luton in 1997. He can at least cling to distant success some 16 years ago, when his Charlton side, perennial top-flight strugglers at the time, dashed Leeds's hopes by winning a promotionrelegation play-off that stretched to a third tie at St Andrews. "I'd be more confident in a two-legged final, when the best team usually goes through," he said. "In a one-off game, if you have 10 minutes of madness or inspirational play, the other team might not be able to recover.

"The signs are good, though. Hie pennies appear to be dropping with the players and I'm happy with their demeanour and approach. I can't think of anything that I'm unhappy about. No doubt somebody will do something to annoy me intensely but we'll see." Contentment stretches to his side's form, unconvincing on paper with only one victory against Bristol City in the semifinal first leg in seven, though more impressive in reality with only one goal conceded in four games against teams who finished in the top six. To that end the return of Daniel Gabbidon, the rookie Welsh international who suffocated Italy's Alessandio Del Piero so effectively at the Mil Dominic Fifield ueues for tickets stretched around Ninian Park this week, the cold driz zle stinging the fans' eyes as they gazed towards the imposing Millennium Stadium in the city centre.

"This is not a cup final," Lennie Lawrence said amid the hubbub. "We're playing for bigger stakes than that." The Welsh capital has become used to staging grand occasions, though rarely has one offered such weighty local interest. Cardiff City are pounding at the gates of the First Division, with only Queens Park Rangers tomorrow barring the way. Sam Hammam's grand vision is to bring Premiership football to the principality but it is 18 years since City last graced even the second tier. Lawrence, a manager with experience of seven league clubs, 1,029 games, two promotions and four play-off campaigns, has endured too much to presume anything.

He has withstood huge pressure at the top and bottom of leagues and is not about to lose his head in the build-up to a fixture which, ridiculously, has escalated into a matter of national pride. "I'm not surprised at the attention this match has generated, not having worked here for a year anyway," said Lawrence, an Englishman whose attempts to distance himself from the furore over the playing of the national anthem did little to shift that squabble from the local front pages. former West Bromwich Albion centre-half, one of a trio of City pilvi uuvt. giakVU III- stadium which looms large within a mile of Ninian Park. "We started this season thinking about automatic promotion and to think we finished as low as sixth is unbelievable but that doesn't matter now." What might is a timely return to form for another young Welsh international in City's ranks.

Robert Earnshaw boasts .35 club goals this season including a hat-trick at Loftus Road in November though only one in his past 10 games. A year ago he scored Wales's winner against Germany in this arena, adding a second against Bosnia in his next appearance. "Scoring for Cardiff would be more special still," said the 22-year-old. "For the club, the manager, the chairman and the fans, this means everything." "It'll be tight with so much at stake but, if we stick to passing it, we'll be all right," added Lawrence. "There'll be nerves but I won't need my sleeping pills.

I might sleep right through it, wake up and find we're in the First Division. Actually that's not a bad idea." Lennie Lawrence, a seasoned play-off hand, puts his head above the parapet of passion Photograph: Jeff Morgan Supersub and centre-half harness domestic rivals as the Imps take on Bournemouth at the Millennium Stadium. The two men respectively a central defender and a striker are vying to finish as the club's top scorer. Their contribution of 10 goals each this season has helped Lincoln secure an improbable appearance in a national final for the first time. Three weeks ago, it was no contest.

Futcher was leading 10-6 as Yeo, a former soldier and postman, warmed the bench after a frustrating season of injury and loss of form. Without a league goal for seven months, the former Futcher, whose father Paul and uncle Ron were twins who both played for Luton Town and Manchester City, was Keith Alexander's first signing when he took over at Sincil Bank for the second time a year ago. The Imps were the first club to slip into administration after the collapse of 1TV Digital and Alexander had to recruit non-league players. The 22-year-old Futcher has been, at 6ft 7in, a huge success. A regular member of the Third Division's best defence only 37 goals conceded in 46 games Lincoln's not-so-secret weapon goes forward for set Hyde United striker suddenly found the net four times in three appearances as a substitute.

His late equaliser against Torquay propelled Lincoln into the play-offs and he then scored three in the semi-finals against Scunthorpe. "There's some good-natured rivalry between us," said the 29-year-old Yeo. "I'm not really bothered who finishes top scorer but I have noticed that when Ben's been getting some stick in training he's reminded everyone that he has the most goals. It has got to me a bit and I've told him that I'm catching up." Goalscoring double act of Yeo and Futcher fire up Lincoln Grahame Lloyd They are the best of friends, team-mates, share a house and have both helped unfancied Lincoln City to reach today's Third Division play-off final. But on the biggest day in the club's 119-year history, Ben Futcher and Simon Yeo will be House-mates, from left, Yeo, Willis and Futcher.