Salford striker sets sights on special day at Wembley

NEW Salford City forward Tom Elliott has set his sights on a trip to Wembley after firing the winner in their Leasing.com Trophy Quarterfinal tie.

The 29-year-old arrived at the Peninsula Stadium earlier this month after his contract with Championship outfit Millwall expired, and he marked his debut with the winner as the Ammies came from behind to defeat Accrington Stanley 2-1 on Tuesday.

The result sees Salford progress to the semifinals, needing only one victory to go back to Wembley for the second time in under a year – after their National League play-off final heroics in May 2019.

He said: “It’s another target for us to go for.

Everybody wants to play at Wembley, it’s a special occasion. I’ve been there myself – I’ve won there three out of three times. “That’s far on the horizon though, so I’m going to be professional and say we’ve got to take it game by game. You sit in the car and think about getting to Wembley but that’s just a dream, we’ve got to do the hard bit now and focus on the league on Saturday first.”

Rivals Oldham Athletic visit Moor Lane tomorrow hoping to put an end to the Ammies’ revival – having won their last two fixtures after three losses to start 2020 – but Elliott is confident he and his new team-mates can continue their form.

“We’ve just won two hard games on the bounce so we’re picking up momentum. The confidence is there, there’s nothing like a winning feeling as long as you get that train going. I’ve been in teams where we’ve gone on 10-match winning streaks so as long as you get that momentum going, you can be unstoppable. Hopefully we can take that into Saturday.”

Despite an inconsistent campaign so far, Salford find themselves only 10 points beneath the play-off fray, and Elliott hinted that a win against League One opposition in Stanley is an indication of how the club is progressing.

“That’s why the gaffer, Gary Neville and everyone behind the scenes wanted to sign players from higher divisions, they want to take the club to different levels.

“The best way to build momentum is winning games.”

Meanwhile, Sam Hughes has been recalled from his loan spell by parent club Leicester, and former United player Darron Gibson is training with Salford as he searches for a new club.