Tranmere Rovers boss Keith Hill hailed his 'excellent' side for reaching the Papa John's Trophy Final following a 2-0 win at in form Oxford United.
The U's, who are pushing for promotion at the Championship, were unable to prevent Rovers reaching the Wembley final with goals from Kaiyne Woolery and Keiron Morris sealing Tranmere's place at the national stadium next month.
The boss said: "We were excellent, and it was superb. You have got to give the lads credit for their work and the way that they fight. It was brilliant.
“I was really proud and really pleased that the competition is still alive. It’s a major trophy for League One and League Two sides and to get to Wembley.
“In the early stages of the competition, it’s a distant dream to go to Wembley and represent Tranmere, but we’ve done it and some of the victories for us to Wembley, Man City U21s, Leicester U21s, Peterborough and now Oxford, who are an excellent, attractive proposition, but we were excellent and I’m so, so pleased.
“Don’t underestimate this competition, as it is ours in League One and League Two, and as managers and players, it is our only real tangible chance to get to Wembley other than play-offs.
“Oxford are an excellent team. They wear you down, they create excellent goal-scoring opportunities, and they win a lot of games late.
“They have got a sustained energy and how they play in and out of possession, and I was expecting the changes that they made, and I can see them having the credentials and going all the way in getting promotion to the Championship.
“You are selecting a side and you are mindful of the success we have had and the way that we have played so far in the competition and I’m really pleased because we have got here with this group of players.
“They have all supported what we have been doing on the training pitch to get to this point, but I thought that it was important that we selected a side which mirrored the same intentions as we had in the previous games and I’m so glad for players that they executed the game-plan with perfection.
“We needed the second-half and when they brought it on strong, we rode our luck a little bit, and they had opportunities and the penalty obviously. We looked a little bit tired in our challenges and they brought their best players on.
“But to ride our luck and get the second goal, we saw the game out well done.
“As a manager now, everything is so short-sighted, right here and now and as a manager, you have to take it each game as it comes whether it’s the Papa John’s Trophy or the league, so we are really pleased but our focus is on the league, which is our priority and as a manager and player, it is your bread and butter, but this is a special opportunity as a club and as a group of players.
“It’s important that we can get over and get through this pandemic together so we can be that football family again, which is our supporters.
“I’ve been to Wembley in the play-offs but this is a cup competition, and it’s not very often that you get the opportunity to go to Wembley to represent your club in a Final and we are so pleased that we are doing it on the behalf of our family which is the Tranmere supporters."
Keith's interview is on iFollow and you can watch now by CLICKING HERE.