Exclusive: Ex-Sunderland captain Max Power gives us his views on the League One Playoff Final

With Saturday’s League One Play-Off Final against Wycombe Wanderers fast approaching, the Roker Rapport Podcast looks ahead to the weekend’s game with a special guest, the last man to captain Sunderland to victory at Wembley, Max Power!

The current Wigan player, who is on holiday after helping his new club to win the League One title, joined us to discuss his Sunderland spell and look ahead to the big game at the weekend.

Power says he cannot see anything but a Sunderland win, despite how difficult it is to play against Wycombe and explained the two factors that he believes will be key for his old club at Wembley:

You look at both teams, I think for me and this is no disrespect to Wycombe at all, I think they have got some very good players and a very good manager and very much a different style to what Sunderland will bring on Saturday but, for me, I look player for player and I think Sunderland have got the better players.

If there’s one team who can upset a game and cause issues and problems and are comfortable without the ball, it is Wycombe.

I think if it was a Sunderland/MK Dons final, you’d be going ‘it’s two teams who like to get the ball down and pass, it’d be a case of who’s going to play the better football on the day.

I think Wycombe are very experienced and before, by the way, I meant no disrespect to them by saying Sunderland, for me, have got the better players, I stand by that. But I do think Wycombe can cause any team problems and I like I said, they are comfortable without the ball.

I’m not going to sit on the fence, I do think Sunderland will win the game on Saturday, there’s a few factors for me.

1. The manager - Alex Neil, I think he’s been there and done it. I’ve watched his interviews, the way he carries himself, he looks very much like he’s in control of the whole situation, he looks like the leader of the club and I think players will draw confidence from that.

2. I touched on before, the front four would comfortable cause problems in the division above. Patrick Roberts, Pritchard, Clarke, they’re all very good technical players and Ross has had a really good season and he can do a bit of everything.

Again the fact Bailey Wright is in such good form, it’s tough to see anything but a Sunderland win.

I don’t want to jinx it before I get everyone slating me on Twitter like usual, I’m blaming me for the evening if it doesn’t go well, I’ll turn my phone off!

But I do see a Sunderland win but I do think Wycombe can cause anyone problems and can slow it down, make it very bitty and drag you into their type of game.

It’ll be interesting. I’m over in Ibiza, so I’ll find a bar to watch it in.

Over the course of this season, I think anyone who knows me on a personal level knows I’ve no ill feeling towards Sunderland whatsoever. Obviously I’ve moved on and that’s football but I look back at my time with Sunderland, I am gutted it didn’t go I wanted it to but I’ll be rooting for the lads on Saturday and I’m just glad I’m not involved to be honest!

You can listen to the full podcast with Max Power as soon as it is released on all the usual channels, follow Roker Rapport on social media Twitter, Facebook or Instagram and subscribe on iTunes, Acast, Spotify or YouTube.