Final will change Crewe players - Demetriou

Mickey Demetriou scored his 10th goal of the season to help Crewe turn their play-off semi-final against Doncaster around

Crewe Alexandra captain Mickey Demetriou says Sunday's League Two play-off final will help change the careers of the Alex players, regardless of the result.

The 34-year-old is preparing to lead Crewe out at Wembley against Crawley Town for a place in League One after playing a key part in their fine comeback against Doncaster Rovers in the semi-final.

Demetriou's sixth-minute header put Crewe on their way to a 2-0 second-leg win that levelled the tie on aggregate before the Railwaymen went through on penalties.

The defender said getting promoted would "mean everything" to the players, staff and fans, adding: "You work hard for 46 games and then it's down to one. Form goes out the window. It's cup football."

Final heartache 'made me a better player'

As one of the most senior players in the squad, Demetriou says he will use all his experience to help the younger members as much as he can.

"If they need to lean on me then I will always do that," he told BBC Radio Stoke.

"But they're good enough players they don't need me to tell them."

Part of that 'elder statesman' role will be passing on what he has learned from his previous brushes with the emotional wringer that is the play-offs.

Sunday's final will be Demetriou's third, having lost twice in the League Two showpiece with Newport County in 2019 and 2021.

It will also be his fourth trip to Wembley after losing to Tottenham there in County's FA Cup fourth-round replay in February 2018.

He also experienced defeat with Kidderminster Harriers in the then Conference Premier play-offs against Wrexham in 2013.

Demetriou says as hard as it was going through those losses, he was able to see the long-term benefits.

"Finals-wise, they've not been good," he said.

"I've told them 'I don't want you feeling like I have' so we just have to give everything we have to make sure that doesn't happen.

"If it does, we learn from it. That's what I've done and it's made me a better player.

"If it happens again it's only going to help them and make them hungry to succeed even more and think 'we don't need the play-offs next time' - use the negatives and turn them into positives."

Demetriou's career has included some highs - most notably his promotion to League One with Shrewsbury Town in 2014-15.

"I've had a lot of memories I'll never forget," he said.

"The way the season's gone, we deserve to be here and that's the most important thing the lads need to remember.

"Don't take it for granted and try to enjoy it."

'We've worked too hard to let it slide away'

Mickey Demetriou spent two seasons with Shrewsbury Town and won promotion from League Two in his first campaign with them in 2014-15

Demetriou will have the honour of leading the Crewe team out at Wembley at the weekend after being named skipper earlier in the year when both Luke Offord and Chris Long were out injured.

With Offord still unavailable, Demetriou has kept the armband with Long's blessing following the striker's return to the side.

Demetriou says being captain is "an honour" and will "cherish" the moment when he walks out at the front in the national stadium but insisted: "We've got lots of leaders, I'm just keeping the armband warm.

"We've struggled with results in the last 10 league games and we need to remember how well we did in the first 36 games."

"We've worked too hard to let it slide away."

Mickey Demetriou was speaking to BBC Radio Stoke's Phil Bowers.