IT was billed as one of the most closely-matched play-off finals in years, but in reality, it was over after 15 minutes.

When Alex Neil last led out a side at Wembley, he was the manager of Norwich City and was taking on Middlesbrough in the Championship play-off final for a place in the Premier League.

The two sides had been separated by just a point in the regular season, with Norwich having seen off their East Anglian rivals Ipswich Town to make it to Wembley and Boro having edged out Brentford over two hard-fought legs of their semi-final.

The expectation was that the final would be a tight, cagey affair, but after Boro’s pre-match preparations were interrupted by their coach to Wembley being delayed, Norwich’s lightning-fast start effectively settled things before their opponents have even settled into their surrounds.

Cameron Jerome opened the scoring after 12 minutes, Nathan Redmond added a second Norwich goal three minutes later, and while Boro improved marginally in the second half, the Canaries were able to hold on without too much trouble for a 2-0 win.

At the time, Neil admits he was caught up in the emotion of the occasion and left Wembley mentally shattered. Seven years later, however, and he can look back on the day with a mixture of enjoyment, satisfaction and pride.

“They’re good memories,” beamed the Sunderland boss, who was also a play-off winner during his first managerial spell in Scotland with Hamilton Academicals. “I think Boro had beaten us 6-1 on aggregate that season, although I was only there for one of those games. They were the favourites, but the game was really finished before it had got started – we had put it to bed.

“They’re naturally good memories, but you only really reflect on them when they’re done. I remember after that match being absolutely exhausted, so mentally tired. I’d only been a manager for a couple of seasons at that point.

“But those days stick with you forever, and that is what these lads will find out on Saturday. It’s these moments where you’re judged as a manager or a player.

“Irrespective of what level you’ve played at, or how much money you’ve made, no one remembers you for that. They remember you for the key moments in time. Those are the key moments that live forever with fans and clubs.”

For all that Neil has gone to achieve plenty in the last seven years, fighting valiantly to try to keep Norwich in the Premier League, enjoying sustained success with Preston and making an instant impact in his current role at Sunderland, he accepts that, to many, he remains best known for that one summer day in 2015.

Similarly, Sunderland’s footballing folklore tends to be focused on specific moments in the biggest of games – Ian Porterfield and Jimmy Montgomery in 1973, Gary Rowell’s hat-trick at St James’ Park, Jermain Defoe’s unstoppable Stadium of Light volley against Newcastle.

Lynden Gooch’s Papa John’s Trophy winner last season probably doesn’t quite make the very top-tier list, largely because it took place in front of 90,000 empty seats, but if a Sunderland player was to score a winner at Wembley this afternoon, they would be lauded on Wearside forever.

“That promotion with Norwich, that game (the play-off final) is synonymous with me and my career,” admitted Neil. “That’s what people remember me for, especially those at Norwich, and nobody can take that away from you.

“You have a chance. That’s what the hard work is for - to get to this point and be someone who can do something special for a lot of people.”

Each and every member of Sunderland’s squad has the opportunity to be a hero this afternoon, while Neil finds himself with the chance to become only the fourth Sunderland manager in history to preside over a Wembley win.

Whatever happens, he will be immensely proud to lead out his players into the Wembley sunshine, having made a number of sacrifices to get himself into this position with the Black Cats.

“It’s hard to describe what it’s going to be like to be honest,” he said. “Really hard to describe. It’s just about having pride in your group, in general, I think.

“It’s a really privileged position you find yourself in. But it’s really difficult to describe. All that hard work, all the hours you put in – people think it’s a glamorous lifestyle, but the simple fact is that my life at the minute is to go to the training ground, then go back to the house I rent, then come back to the training ground for the next 12 hours. Then it’s the same the next day, and the next day, and the next day.

“Travelling to away games, being away from your family, all of that stuff – all the hard yards and hard work, it’s these moments that make it all worth it.”