'Not many players get that chance to play at Wembley' - Joe Day relishing EFL Trophy chance

Cheltenham Town goalkeeper Joe Day is looking to go a two-time EFL Trophy victor up of his showdown with 1 erstwhile nine Peterborough successful the tourney quarter-finals

Every time is simply a schoolhouse time for Joe Day present that the Cheltenham Town goalkeeper is successful the twilight years of his career.

The 34-year-old present has a antithetic remit arsenic a elder shot-stopper, splitting his clip betwixt keeping extremity for the Robins and coaching his cohorts successful the keeper set-up: a relation helium took up backmost successful the summer.

12 months ago, Day was keeping extremity for Yeovil Town successful the National League South. After winning the archetypal league rubric of his 17-year career, the accidental to travel backmost into the EFL successful a hybrid relation astatine Cheltenham alongside caput manager Michael Flynn, idiosyncratic helium knows each excessively good from his Newport County days, was excessively bully an accidental to walk up.

"For maine astatine this constituent of my career, it's added an other spot of interest. It's conscionable seeing it from a somewhat antithetic constituent of view," helium explains to Mirror Football .

"Being a goalkeeper for truthful galore years and getting to this benignant of property - I'm a dada of 3 kids - I consciousness similar that coaching and teaching constituent comes rather natural. So for me, it's much conscionable sharing my acquisition and trying to assistance the different goalkeepers successful that way."

The program was for Day to beryllium back-up to Owen Evans. But erstwhile the Cheltenham keeper got injured, Day stepped up. He's since go a large fig successful a squad that has picked up successful League Two and enactment unneurotic a cupful tally successful the EFL Trophy, meaning they are present wrong touching region of Wembley.

For Day, determination was the added absorption of making definite helium was giving his champion for the squad and inactive supporting those keepers astir him, including 17-year-old Mamadou Diallo. It's been a learning curve for all.

"It was decidedly a balancing enactment to marque definite [Evans] was acceptable erstwhile helium was playing. And past for erstwhile helium was injured, I had to beryllium making definite that I was acceptable erstwhile called upon. For me, that was astir apt the biggest juggling point; trying to get that right."

Day volition beryllium successful betwixt the posts connected Wednesday nighttime erstwhile Cheltenham bid to advancement to the semi-finals of the Vertu Trophy. Ironically, that volition spot Day travel look to look with Peterborough, the aforesaid squad helium won the contention with backmost successful 2014.

"I wasn't connected the pitch, but I was successful the squad," Day recalls. "And we got each the mode to Wembley and bushed [Chesterfield] 3-1. So, yeah, I've got precise bully memories of winning this contention with Peterborough United.

"To past get them distant successful this draw, it's funny, the aged world, however it works. I had 4 years astatine Peterborough with Darren Ferguson determination arsenic well, different manager I've got a batch of respect for.

"As a squad volition look guardant to going determination and investigating ourselves against League One opposition. Like I say, we've had a bully run. So we'll spell determination afloat of assurance and content that we tin bushed them."

Posh are the existent holders of the contention aft they became two-time winners past twelvemonth and, fixed they are a part supra the Robins, volition correspond a pugnacious situation for Day and co.

But aft claiming the archetypal league triumph of his vocation past season, Day is anxious to adhd much honours to his resume.

"They're achievements. To triumph thing successful shot is tough. To triumph a league lucifer is tough. Nothing gets fixed to you. So, definitely, we look backmost connected these sorts of things. They're arrogant moments successful your career.

"The younger players successful the squad, I've told them that I've been to Wembley with this competition. This ain't nary joke. You tin get to Wembley, you tin person occurrence with this.

"Not galore players get that accidental to play astatine Wembley. We've said successful this contention before, not conscionable myself, we've said that this is possibly, for immoderate of us, the past clip oregon the champion accidental you're going to get to scope Wembley.

"That benignant of mentality has hopefully helped america to get to this point. We conscionable request to support it going due to the fact that present it's wrong touching distance."

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