becomes an inconvenient truth.And that is the source of my

Ian Holloways managerial career has been defined by his success in the play-offs. Hes been through five play-off campaigns as a manager, achieving promotions to the Premier League with Blackpool (2010) and Crystal Palace (2013) while also suffering final defeats with Blackpool (2012) and Queens Park Rangers (2003).He has been there, done it, experienced highs and suffered great heartbreak - so, whats the key component for reigning supreme in this dramatic format? Ahead of a weekend of Football League play-off final action, all of which you can watch live on Sky Sports, we asked him for a his five-step guide to winning at Wembley.... Holloway secured promotion via Wembley again in 2013, when his Crystal Palace side beat Watford in 2013 This is the pinnacle of the whole season. Every mile every supporter has travelled will be worth it when their team steps out onto the Wembley pitch.The play-off final embodies what football is all about and why its such a monumental part of my life. Ive lived through the ups and downs of probably about 1,000 lives. We all have to be able to dream. Go with what your heart wants. You have to go through dissapointment, to appreciate the ups, says Ollie As a football supporter you shouldnt do it just because you want the good times - you should be there through thick and thin for your team. Trust me, there is no better place to be than Wembley when your team has just won. It will stay with you for the rest of your life. How do you go about winning it? Well, here are five important things to consider. 1) Manage your emotionsThe play-offs have given me the best and worst feelings in the world - dealing with those emotions is the absolute key to achieving success in this format.To quote Muhammad Ali, its about the will, not the skill. That makes people champions.You have to feel both sides of the coin to understand the play-offs.I think Ive got it sussed now. Its all about ascendancy and gaining it. Its like a tug of war, but an emotional one. Ollies Wembley predictions Which clubs does Ollie fancy? I prepared my lads at Blackpool by explaining to them the feeling you get when you lose and the emotion you feel when you win.Your players need to be like robots and not get too emotional on the play-off roller-coaster. That comes through extensive work on the training ground to programme their minds to deal with different situations.When Blackpool fell behind against Cardiff in the 2010 final, it was all about putting the ball back down calmly and regaining the ascendancy. My message was: Were 1-0 down, so what? How can we get at them? We can deal with the emotion of going behind, but they cant. Thats our advantage.In that play-off final against Cardiff where we kept coming back, Cardiff didnt get back into the game because they couldnt get over the negative feeling of falling behind. Its about being mentally ready for every single thing that can happen on a football field so you dont become too drained - that can then affect you psychically.2) Dont tense upWhoever plays how they normally do will come out on top. Rather than getting caught up in the occasion, its key to stay on task, realise what got you here in the first place and do all the basics right.The build-up and walk onto the pitch at Wembley is a test of nerve. Highlights of the 2010 play-off final between Blackpool and Cardiff as Ian Holloway led the Seasiders to the Premier League. Everything is relatively quiet in the tunnel and then bang, you hit this wall of noise. When you walk out, theyve got those torches that go off that almost take your face off!Everything is tingling then and although you dont want to show it, youre almost in a different state - like youre dreaming.I wish I could get that feeling every day. Its like being at the top of a rollercoaster and then shooting down at 100mph - your stomach feels like its somewhere else. If only you could bottle the feeling, youd sell it for millions of pounds. Play Fantasy Six-a-Side Pick your Championship play-off final team to win ￡10,000. 3) Mind gamesYou can get this wrong, massively. As a manager, youve got to be really careful what you say and do in the build-up and on the day.No one will want to come across as nervous because thats something the opposition can feed off. Its all part of it. It does help to put a bit of pressure on the opposition when you can say youve been there and done it as a manager. 4) A little bit of magicYou must have someone who can do something a bit special, like Charlie Adam did for me at Blackpool with a stunning free-kick against Cardiff. Highlights of the Sky Bet Championship play-off semi-final second leg between Brighton and Sheffield Wednesday. You need your big-game players to show up and do something magical. Someone who has been influential throughout the season has to deliver on the big stage otherwise your job becomes much harder. Ive seen so many good players freeze on the day and not get into the game. Some players have a knack of perfecting their mental focus at this time of season and pushing them to the forefront is a real skill as a manager. Curtis Davies is hoping Hulls previous Wembley experience will help with their Championship play-off final with Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday. Some players can get mentally on it and their performance levels rocket. Its like this for all athletes, you need to get your mind in the right place to play the right game. If you do that then instinct takes over for you to perfect your skill.DJ Campbell was brilliant at it, so was Adam. They both had that little bit extra to produce at the right moment. Kevin Phillips was the same. Was I worried when he stepped up for that penalty for Palace? No chance. He would have scored it 20 out of 20 times.Theres more than enough players on show to excite us this weekend, whether were in the stadium or watching at home. 5) PreparationThe build-up to a play-off game is wonderful. Everyone around the place is smiling in the sunshine and wishing you luck.If you get past the semi-final, youve got 10 or 11 days to plan everything. However, its crucial to get everything planned down to a tee immediately after the semi-final.You can go and get your suits sorted, book hotels for the players and their families and make sure everyone that wants a ticket gets a ticket, knowing that your family are there is a massive thing for all concerned. With just five days to go before their League 2 play-off final with AFC Wimbledon, the Plymouth team have been getting suits fitted for the big day. You can lose your focus as a manager or a player if you get caught up too much in the razzmatazz of the build-up and leave a couple of stones unturned. Suits, hotels and tickets can be a massive distraction if not sorted early. Preparation is everything. Just look at Middlesbrough last season. Im in no doubt the fact their coach turned up late to Wembley affected the players when they lost to Norwich. They didnt look relaxed, they were anxious. Aitor Karanka would have been affected too, as hes so meticulous.When we got the final at Blackpool, the club had done it before, so they knew how to organise everything, which took a huge amount of pressure of me and the playing staff.It was magnificent and simplified everything. I took the same philosophy and plan to Crystal Palace and it worked a treat. We benefited hugely from such a simple formula, although I had to convince owner Steve Parish to wear suits rather than tracksuits. Preparation is everything. Just look at Middlesbrough last season. Im in no doubt the fact their coach turned up late to Wembley affected the players when they lost to Norwich. Ollie on preparation I wanted my lads to look and feel crisp when walking into Wembley. I thought it was important. It worked too as Watford showed up in tracksuits and looked scruffy. We were 1-0 up from that moment on - little psychological edges like that can make a huge difference. Watch every Football League play-off final game live from Wembley on Sky Sports. Find the full schedule here. Also See: FL72 Podcast Ollies Wembley predictions WATCH: Best of Football League Quiz: Old football grounds Thomas Morstead Saints Jersey . R.J. Umberger scored twice to lead the Blue Jackets to a franchise-record for consecutive wins with a 5-3 victory Tuesday night over the Los Angeles Kings. 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Rickey Jackson Youth Jersey .S. -- Nikolaj Ehlers registered a hat trick for the third straight game and Jonathan Drouin had a goal and five assists as the Halifax Mooseheads hammered the host Cape Breton Screaming Eagles 10-1 on Tuesday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. John Inverarity has bowled me a doosra today with his comments about the doosra and integrity. Im genuinely not sure which way to play this one.That he is a gentleman and a scholar there can be no doubt. His reputation as man of decency and integrity allows him the privilege of making a comment such as this with some immunity from anyone looking to take cheap shots at him. From that perspective, reading his words carefully, I can draw no hint of mischief or hypocrisy in his brave statement. Perhaps a long bow could be drawn to infer that he is pointing fingers at some bowlers but I genuinely think that to do so would be to do the gentleman an injustice. Clearly he believes that the doosra has the potential to corrupt bowling actions and he would prefer to see the Australian bowling contingent shy away from that technique. Fair enough too if that is his genuine belief.On the other hand, I also believe that it may be a bit na?ve on the part of Australian cricket, if Inverarity is speaking on behalf of the institution rather than as an individual, to encourage a policy that is clearly going to disadvantage Australia to this extent. Put simply, the doosra is arguably the most potent bowling weapon in modern cricket. Especially in limited overs cricket, it is probably the single most influential factor in giving bowling teams a sniff of hope. The fast bowlers have proved woefully inadequate in coming up with anything new to stem the flow of boundaries. In fact, their skill level has actually dropped some considerable level, evidenced by the steady diet of full tosses that are served up at least once an over when under pressure. So the doosra and the variations that followed (carrom ball) can lay claim to being the most influential game-changer. When a bowler with a good doosra comes on to bowl, I immediately sit up and take notice because there is always the chance that a game can be turned on its head. Since Shane Warne led the new spin revolution, nothing has excited me more in the bowling stakes than the perfection of the various types of doosra.That is why I am slightly flummoxed by Inveraritys stance on it. Whilst not necessarily agreeing with his inference that it may lead to illegal actions, I respect his integrity enough to accept his point in the spirit it was intended. However, to encourage Australian spinners to not learn the art form is possibly putting principle before pragmatism. That in itself is admirable if it were applied universally but no country, least of all Australia, has ever applied this morality on a whole of cricket basis so what makes the doosra so special? Is Inverarity suggesting that Austrralian cricket should now make decisions on the basis of integrity or is the doosra singled out as the one issue where we apply the Integrity Test? If so, is it any coincidence that we dont really have anyone who can bowl the doosra with any great proficiency and will that change on the day we discover our own Doosra Doctor?All countries have their own inconsistencies to be ashamed of so Im not suggesting that Australia is alone in this regard.dddddddddddd Far from it. Living in Australia, I just get to see a lot more of the local cricketing news so Im better qualified to make comment on Australian examples. A few examples spring to mind….lets think back to the times when we prepared turning tracks in the 1980s to beat the West Indies. A fair enough tactic too so long as theres no complaints if other teams prepare pitches to suit their strengths. Similarly, I recall a period during the late 1990s when Australian teams insisted on having their fielders word accepted when a low catch had been taken. That theory worked OK until Andy Bichel claimed a caught and bowled off Michael Vaughan in the 2002/03 Ashes series when replays showed it had clearly bounced in front of him. I know Bich quite well and he is as honest as they come so it was genuinely a case of him thinking it had carried when in fact it hadnt. Around that same period, Justin Langer refused to walk when caught by Brian Lara at slip, despite the Australian mantra that a fielders word was his bond. They come no more honourable than Lara in this regard so what happened to the principle? Like all matters of convenience, it is admirable but rarely works when it becomes an inconvenient truth.And that is the source of my confusion with linking the doosra to the question of integrity. Im not convinced that the integrity issue will stand the test of time if Australia accidentally discovers a home-grown exponent of this delivery. Likewise the issue of the switch-hit. Now that Dave Warner plays it as well as anyone, are we opposed to this too on integrity grounds? If Warner hadnt mastered the shot, would that too be something that we would not encourage because it perhaps bent the spirit of cricket?Only time will tell whether Inveraritys wisdom and guidance will be mirrored by those in the organisation with perhaps less integrity and more pragmatism in their veins. I suspect it will take more than one decent man to stop an irresistible force. His motives may be pure indeed but I suspect that this is one issue that will turn the other way! ' ' '