Ben Purrington will be hoping it’s third time lucky on Sunday.

The League One Play-Off Final at Wembley will be the third time the 23-year-old left back has been to the national stadium.

The on-loan Rotherham man however has yet to set foot on the turf having been an unused substitute on both occasions.

“Fingers crossed I’ll be in the team,” Purrington said.

“I’ve played quite a few games, so hopefully I’ll get to play because it’s a stadium that not many people have played at.

“I’ve been on the bench twice at Wembley and I know how it feels not to play.

“Everyone will want to play and will be fighting to get in the team, but whatever happens the boys will be supporting each other to get the win.”

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Purrington watched from the sidelines last year when Rotherham beat Shrewsbury on penalties, Charlton’s conquerors in the play-off semi-final.

And in 2016, and adding an air of coincidence to proceedings, he sat and saw Lyle Taylor notch for AFC Wimbledon as his Plymouth side were beaten 2-0 in the League Two play-off final.

Relegations Contenders to Promotion Chasers

Purrington was deemed surplus to requirements at Rotherham this season and was sent on loan to the Dons at the start of the campaign before swapping a relegation fight for a promotion push with Charlton.

“The general mood around the camps were so different,” he continued.

“Obviously Wimbledon were down the bottom of the league and any team down there there’s a different mentality.

“Sort of doing everything and anything to get the win, here it’s a completely different style of play.

“We were playing really good football at Wimbledon, but as you start losing games it’s natural to change the way you play to do anything to get the three points, whereas here when you’re on a good run, everyone is confident, and you play better football.

“I’m enjoying it here and the style of football.”

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'Problem Position' - Solved

Bowyer often spoke of his wish to bring a left-back in during the transfer window having seen Lewis Page ruled out for almost the entire season.

The position was a called a ‘problem-position’ by Bowyer and often Chris Solly, Anfernee Dijksteel or academy prospect Toby Stevenson were deployed out of position on the left flank.

Purrington’s 18 appearances at left-back since his arrival however seems to have solved the ‘problem.’

“I’d played 30 games at Wimbledon in League One, so I knew I was good enough to play in this league, it’s just whether I could adapt to the new club.

“Obviously Lewis (Page) was unlucky because he was injured at the time, but thankfully I kept my place and I’ve got those games under my belt.”

Training Talent

With Rotherham being relegated to League One, AFC Wimbledon narrowly avoiding the drop, and Charlton one game away from the Championship, Purrington has trained with a host of players, but training with the current Addicks’ crop, he’s sure they are destined for bigger things.

“The quality they have is very, very good, and I think they will play a lot higher.

“Before I came I’d played against Joe (Aribo), Josh (Cullen) and you know the quality they have, but when you see it everyday in training it really hits home.

“That goes for the whole squad, you see real quality in everyone, more so in training than on a matchday.

“Can they play at a higher level?

“100%”

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