Will Buckley insists there is no complacency in the Albion camp as he targets a return to Wembley to face his old club.
The Seagulls have been widely tipped to get past Crystal Palace at The Amex tonight and set up a showdown with Watford in the Championship play-off final on May 27.
Buckley, bought from Watford for £1 million two years ago, is not taking such a mouthwatering prospect for granted after Friday’s 0-0 draw in the first leg at Selhurst Park.
The eight-goal winger told The Argus: “People will probably be putting us as favourites but you know how close these games can be. We are confident within the camp that we can do it and get through the tie but it’s going to be difficult.
“We are not taking anything lightly or thinking we are already through. There will be no danger of that. Like the gaffer has said, it’s one massive game, one kind of cup final at home, which we would definitely have taken after the first leg.
“Obviously, it would be nice to play against my old club. There are not many players there from when I was there, because they’ve had a lot of loan players in, but they played a big part in my career. They gave me my chance coming from a League Two club.”
Seeing off Palace would give Buckley the chance of a more memorable Wembley experience after making a late appearance as a teenage substitute in Rochdale’s League Two play-off final defeat against Stockport County five years ago.
He said: “That’s a bit of a blur. The day just seemed to go really quickly. There was a good crowd there, about 35,000, but nothing like there will be if we manage to get there this time.
“I was young and I was a bit stuck in headlights. I would love to get back there again. The stakes are a lot bigger this time and it would be brilliant if we can do it.”
Albion, with no new injury concerns, are likely to be unchanged, although Ashley Barnes could be in contention for a return to the starting line-up on the left of a three-man attack.
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