IT might be a competition that has been much-maligned over the years, but Jack Ross has admitted ‘it’s time to get excited’ as Sunderland will tonight look to secure a Wembley appearance in the Checkatrade Trophy.

The Black Cats are heading back to Bristol Rovers, where they won 2-0 ten days ago in League One, to battle out a semi-final for the right to face Portsmouth on March 31.

Even though promotion to the Championship at the first attempt is the over-riding priority facing the squad this season, Ross has never hidden the fact that going all the way in the EFL competition was on his wish-list.

The Northern Echo:

  • Can't get to the game? Follow Scott Wilson's LIVE blog on the Northern Echo website this evening

Now, having got Saturday’s league victory over Plymouth out of the way, the Sunderland manager believes the prospect of sealing a Wembley date has just got real for his players after flying down to the south west yesterday.

“I think we can all get excited about it now,” said Ross. “We’ve spoken about it as a staff because we have to plan ahead, but in terms of the playing squad we hadn’t, and the preparation for it really began in earnest once we’d got the Plymouth game out of the way.

“It was a quick turnaround but the players are acutely aware that they’re one game away from playing at Wembley and two wins away from winning the competition.

“That’s huge for players, regardless of what competition it is. Once the dust settled on Saturday’s game they looked forward to it and whoever plays will be desperate to win the game.”

Ross has been to Wembley before, in 1996 to watch Scotland lose to a Paul Gascoigne inspired England at Euro ’96. The Falkirk-born former Hartlepool defender would love to return and have a happier memory to cherish.

“The last time I was there was 1996, if anything I would like to put that right. I’ve not been back since – no wonder!” said Ross, who would relish the opportunity to head there as a manager.

“I’ve done it consistently through my management career where I don’t really think about it from that point of view, I just look at it as my job to win games and try to make my club successful.

“It’s of much more significance to the players because they’re the ones who go on the pitch, and everyone associated with the club who’ve been through a tough couple of years.  “If I can bring a little bit of reward for their loyalty this season with a trip to London to see their team at Wembley, then brilliant.”

Ross has tended to name a mixed bag in terms of the team he has fielded in the Checkatrade Trophy, he has still delivered five wins in a row since the opening goalless draw with Stoke City, which they then won on penalties.

Given the fact it is a semi-final tonight, he is likely to field a stronger team than he has in the past, although with back-to-back away trips to Wycombe and then Barnsley to follow in League One then he will not go overboard.

He said: “We’ve got a really busy schedule at the moment, we’ve got a tough week in terms of travelling and two difficult league matches which will follow Tuesday night as well but we’re going into the semi-final of a competition we’ve worked really hard to win.  “I think it’s been 114 games to get there so we don’t want to let that go to waste!

“After the Plymouth game we assessed where some players were at because we’ve had some players who carried bumps and bruises into the game, others who picked up some issues, and then we’ll look at it from there. But we’ll pick a team that can win us the game because we want to get to the final and win the competition.”

It is less than two weeks since Sunderland left the Memorial Stadium with three points courtesy of goals from Luke O’Nien and Aiden McGeady.  Ross said: “I think having the game in between was helpful. We had it earlier in the season with Walsall and when you play back to back it’s more difficult. That both of us played on Saturday in between facing each other again helps a little bit and brings a bit of freshness to the game.

“I know they made some changes to their line-up on Saturday from when they played us so it may be we face a team that has some freshness about it.  “The game will be very much on its own merits because they had a big result on Saturday and they’re desperately seeking points where they are at the moment. They’ll look on it probably as a bit of a relief.”

Sunderland’s players will certainly not be taking the game lightly, knowing just what it would mean to everyone if the club can end a season in the third tier of English football with a winning Wembley appearance behind them.

Lewis Morgan, on loan from Celtic, said: “People try to play down cup competitions if it’s not the main competition, like the FA Cup. But from a player’s point of view, every cup competition you play in, you want to win.  “This is not different, just because it’s the Checkatrade Trophy. We all want to win, and we all want to get to Wembley. It would be great for us a squad, and it would be a big turnout so it would also be great for the fans. That’s what we’re aiming to do.

“The bottom line is that it’s another game we’ll be looking to go down there and win, regardless of when we last played them. We’ll be taking the game on its own merits and looking to win to get to Wembley.”

He added: "It’s definitely not a distraction. I don’t really care what anybody says, whatever cup competition you’re playing in, you want to win it.  "We’ve obviously got recent experience of what it takes to win down there. We want to get a positive result and get ourselves to a final, which I’m sure the fans would love as well. We know that if we play the way we’ve been playing recently, then the result will take care of itself."