AFTER being left on the bench during his last visit to Wembley while on loan at Brentford, Swindon Town wing-back Nathan Byrne is hoping to go one step further on Sunday.

The 22-year-old, who scored a late winner in the first leg victory over Sheffield United, was an unused sub when Brentford reached the final of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy in the 2010-11 season, losing 1-0 to Carlisle.

It was difficult to go to Wembley and not get on the pitch but it is something Byrne wants to put right on Sunday.

“It will mean everything to me if I can play there and I will be over the moon,’’ Byrne told the Advertiser.

“It is one of the greatest stadiums in the world and to be there with these lads would just be a dream come true and hopefully we can get the win and make our way to the Championship.

“It has been a season full of up and downs. I think we started off on fire and then we stepped off it a bit at the start of this year but over the last two months or so, we have really got back on it and the performances have come good again.

“I think it is the right time for us and the right occasion that we are at Wembley and we can show the whole country what we can do.”

The former Tottenham Hotspur player played a big part in the first two goals of Town’s 5-5 draw against Sheffield United in the semi-final second leg, providing the assist for Ben Gladwin’s second.

He said it was one of the “craziest” matches he has ever played in but expects the final against Preston North End to be a much tighter affair on Sunday.

Byrne said: “The semi-final was one hell of a game. I’ve seen it all over Twitter and all the social media sites saying it was the craziest play-off game ever, which I won’t disagree with, as it was mad.

“There were a lot of emotions involved and I think the players were quite drained by the final whistle, but hopefully it’s not that nail-biting at Wembley.

“I think the final will be a tighter affair. Obviously we don’t want to be conceding five or six goals again. We are working on defending crosses and marking in the box, as I think that’s Preston’s biggest threat.

“In the semi-final, whenever we scored, we conceded straight away, which is never a good thing. The first five minutes after you score, you want to be tight in defence, so I think it was just one of those freak games.”

Byrne has a few superstitions that he will be following ahead of the match, but added that manager Mark Cooper will ensure that the team are fully prepared ahead of the big game.

“I have a few superstitions, although I don’t really know why I have them”, Byrne said. “I always have to warm up at the back of the line and put one foot on the pitch before the other, but I don’t think about it too much.

“I think the manager has helped us all season with the knowledge and experience he has. We know what he expects from us and know what we expect from each other, so we are working on everything to be as prepared as we can be.

“We know after this we can have a big rest and don’t have to wake up early and can eat more of the foods we want, so we are just going to give everything we have on Sunday.”