Exeter City midfielder Nicky Law says the squad have come back to training in great shape and can't wait for Thursday play-off semi-final first leg against Colchester United.
The talented midfielder, who has netted 17 goals in 80 appearances for the Grecians, said that he was pleased to get some certainty back once the decision was made to curtial the Sky Bet League Two season but continue with the play-offs and he and the players can't wait to get back to match action.
"I think the worst part was not knowing what was going to happen for so long," said Nicky. "So to get a bit of clarity on that and something to look forward to was good.
"Everybody is looking forward to it. They are big games, with big pressure and are nice games to be involved in. I have had a few play-off campaigns myself, which haven’t turned out too great, but they are always great occasions. There is just so much pressure on the games, which I think as players we enjoy.
"It is important to relish the pressure. There is so many highs and lows that you experience over the two legs and it is just as important for us, I think, to try and keep as level headed as we can and whatever the situations are that pop up and get thrown at us, we know it will be two really difficult games against a good attacking side, with lots of pace. The two leagues games will probably point you as to how close the games will be over the two legs."
Nicky has been involved with the play-offs twice before, once with Rangers in Scotland and then with Bradford City when they lost 1-0 to Millwall in the League One play-off final at Wembley Stadium. It is similar for City as well as they have tasted defeat twice in recent play-off campaigns and Nicky says both he and the other players will be using that as motivation to do one better this time around.
"It is probably the lowest feeling you can get in our sport," he said. "Obviously losing out at Wembley is a horrible feeling, because you have to sit there and watch the other team go up and all those things just accumulate to a really bad day, on what could have turned out to be a really special one.
"Our club knows, as good as anyone, how difficult that can be, with the two bad experiences we have had in a row. So those experience can definitely spur you on and give you even more determination because you don’t want to feel that again.
"The play-offs are strange, because you usually do a 46-game season – it is slightly less this year – and it all comes down to three games. We will take them one at a time. We have got a big hurdle ahead of us with Colchester.
"Hopefully, we will have enough to get through that two-legged game and come out on top and then we can, maybe, look a little bit further down the line then. However, for now it is all eyes on Thursday. We have done as much as we can. The staff have put on a really good two-and-a-half weeks work for us to make us try and be as ready as we can be and now it will be up to us as players to try and do our best and carry that out and, hopefully, it will be enough.”