PAIN OR GLORY
JEDINAK: This is a ‘sliding doors’ game and losing is not an option
MILE JEDINAK admits Aston Villa face a “sliding-doors” play-off final today at Wembley.
Victory will see several stars’ salaries automatically double and give Villa a chance to buy loanees Sam Johnstone, Robert Snodgrass, Lewis Grabban and Josh Onomah.
But failure will also have huge consequences at Villa, where Chinese owner Dr Tony Xia (right) has been cutting costs after initially spending heavily.
This summer the club’s parachute payment will drop from £33million to just £15m following relegation two seasons ago.
It would mean huge cut-backs, and boss Steve Bruce’s budget for next term in the Championship could be as much as halved.
A raft of player exits are also anticipated if Villa lose with out-ofcontract skipper John Terry likely to be among the first to leave.
Jedinak, 33, reflected: “The game is lifechanging. It is a game we can’t lose but we’ve got to use that as motivation. It is a crossroads moment, a slidingdoors moment.
“You all know what Premier League football comes with. We haven’t spoke about the repercussions as a group but everyone knows it.
“No-one is kidding themselves – people are aware of it and know the situation. We are doing the right thing and trying to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
Jedinak is no stranger to pressure after scoring a second-half hattrick as skipper, including two penalties, to help Australia beat Honduras 3-1 in November to reach the World Cup. He has also skippered Crystal Palace to play-off glory at Wembley over Watford in 2013 before lifting the cup with crocked club captain Paddy McCarthy. Jedinak, who joined Villa in 2016 from Palace, recalled: “It was truly special. “To get back there this way it has gone full circle and would be unbelievable. “It would be an amazing feeling for me and for everybody because I know how much joy it would bring to so many people. “I know if it does go the right way that you’re going to feel this huge buzz. Having tasted that and Premier League football after that when I came to this club, all I was thinking about was the Premier League. “If there’s any game where you talk about playing the game and not the occasion this fits the bill. “While it’s going to be frantic around you and everyone is going to be filled with excitement in the stands, and there is going to be a nervous tension, you have to try to retain that focus and discipline.”