Haldane heading to Wembley (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Haldane heading to Wembley

9:57am Thursday 24th May 2007 in Football By Nick Mashiter

LEWIS Haldane believes he owes his place in the Wembley-bound Bristol Rovers team to mental toughness.

The 22-year-old striker, from The Paddocks in Chippenham, struggled to make the Rovers side at the start of the season, but played a massive part in the late run into the play offs.

Following their 7-4 aggregate win over Lincoln City, Rovers face Shrewsbury Town in the League Two play off final on Saturday.

"A few seasons ago I would have let my head go but I kept it up and kept working," he said. "Next year I want to play at a higher level and we are determined to do it."

The striker believes the 3-2 extra time Johnstone's Paint Trophy defeat to Doncaster Rovers at the Millennium Stadium in April will actually help them.

"The final will stand us in good stead because Shrewsbury won't be used to playing at a big stadium," he said. "I never dreamed of playing in front of a crowd that big and can't believe I'm doing it again."

The former Trowbridge Town man has one other motive to win at Wembley, the chance to play his beloved Leeds United.

"I would love to play them, it would be tremendous, it would probably be the best thing about them going down," he said.