Monday 25 May 2015 14:16, UK
Alex Neil believes treating the Sky Bet Championship play-off final against Middlesbrough as just another game will be the best preparation for his Norwich City side.
Back in August, the 33-year-old Scot began the season as player-manager of Hamilton, tackling Arbroath at New Douglas Park.
Roll the clock forward 10 months and Neil now faces the biggest match in his short managerial career as he stands on the verge of guiding Norwich back into the Barclays Premier League and to the £120million promotion jackpot.
Since taking over from Neil Adams at the start of January, Neil has guided the Canaries to a run of 16 victories in 24 matches and third place in the Championship.
Since their semi-final triumph over East Anglia rivals Ipswich Town, the Norfolk club have sold 39,500 tickets for the final, with fans flocking to Wembley from as far afield as Canada, Australia and Vietnam.
However for Neil and his squad, the occasion comes second to focusing on the job in hand and winning a football match.
Neil said: "The way I go about it and the detail is different but not the process, that is the same whether it was Arbroath or now Middlesbrough at Wembley. I will still do the same things with my players.
"The background detail is obviously different because this is a one-off match. In a league game you can make the points up further down the line.
"But it doesn't matter who I am playing. If I haven't prepared my team then I haven't done my job, but I know there is a lot more at stake in this final game.
"I have got decisions to make every week, it is not as if this week is any different. What is at stake is different, but that is the only difference really.
"I know exactly what I want to do. It is about picking the right team for the game, that is the most important thing."
Neil will need no introductions to the threats posed by Boro, with Aitor Karanka's side having secured a smash-and-grab 1-0 win at Carrow Road on April 17 which all but ended Norwich's hopes of automatic promotion. The Canaries eventually finished third, three points behind second-placed Watford.
"I have watched Boro enough now, I know what they are capable of and what we are capable of doing," said Neil.
"We know exactly where our frailties lay in that game [at Carrow Road] and how to improve on them, and that is something we have touched on with the players and will continue to bed into them between now and game time.
"For the players, [the message is] don't have any regrets. They have worked so hard to get to this point, it's really important that we don't fall at the final hurdle.
"What you are hoping is that our players can have more than an impact in the game than theirs, and it might take a bit of magic or a mistake from an individual that is the deciding factor."
Norwich have received a boost ahead of the Wembley clash as forward Lewis Grabban is available following a three-match suspension for his red card against Rotherham.
Watch Middlesbrough v Norwich in the Championship play-off final on Monday on Sky Sports 1HD. Kick-off is at 3pm.
