Mat Sadler: Shrewsbury Town will keep proving critics wrong

Town are least favourite of League One’s four play-off teams to secure Wembley success and promotion later this month.

Paul Hurst’s men were viewed as underdogs for much of the first half of the season as they fought it out at the top of the third tier.

Ahead of their semi-final first-leg at Charlton, the club captain said: “We’re the smallest club of the four teams in there, there’s no hiding that.

“We’ve made an impression all season while proving people wrong and this is just another opportunity to do just that

“You can say it’s unusual for the third-placed team to be the underdogs going into it.

“But that’s great, maybe that can make people saying the rubbish like ‘the third placed team don’t go up’ – because generally they’re the favourites.

“Being third placed and least favourites suits us down to the ground.”

Sadler is the most experienced player in Hurst’s squad, but the 33-year-old is confident in the younger squad members’ big game experience.

“We’ve played some big, big games this season and, from my point of view, we’ve come through the majority of them on the right of it,” he added.

“So to be exposed to those sort of games and scenarios will stand the lads that are a little younger in good stead. They all know what a big game this is.

“It’s really exciting. All your family and friends ask you about it. They know the prize is one you really, really want.”