So the big day is nearly upon us. We are well and truly on our way to Wem-ber-lee for the Paint Pot Trophy and perhaps this time it is going to be different.

Sorry to strike such a cautionary tone when I should be more excitable than a nine-year-old who has just munched his way through a whole bag of Haribo but bitter experience has taught me to enter these kind of games with a sense of suspicion, teetering on the brink of outright pessimism.

We’ve been in this position before, of course, losing out in the final of what was then the LDV Vans Trophy (only the top blue chip companies sponsor this esteemed competition) to Port Vale at The Millennium Stadium.

Play-off final defeats, again at The Millennium and the old Wembley, have also been locked away in deepest vault of my memory bank, but on occasions like these they just can’t help making a break for freedom.

As a result, I’m not going to get too carried away with the possibility of a Brentford win on Sunday, even if, and I’m going to whisper it, the signs are good.

A less mentally warped supporter than myself would actually be going into this game full of unbridled optimism seeing as the team is on a great run of form and playing a lovely brand of passing football that should be perfectly suited to Wembley’s wide open spaces.

The losers of our recent league game with Carlisle United were always going to claim that result would have no bearing on Sunday’s match, but as we won I’m happy to state that Friday night’s victory at Griffin Park has given us a huge psychological edge over a Cumbrian squad already traumatised by the fact that they are practically Scottish.

We can also claim an edge thanks to the fact that Brentford have managed to shift close to 24,000 tickets, meaning we will almost certainly out number the Carlisle United supporters on the day.

Quite where all of these people have come from I’m not too sure, but as long as they make plenty of noise to get behind the Bees then I’m not too bothered.

You know what? With all of this positivity, I think I might have convinced myself. 2-0 to Brentford – you heard it here first.

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