Cardiff connection can fire us to Championship - Harris
- Published
Cardiff City might not be there, but Wembley is getting ready for a Welsh invasion this weekend.
Remarkably, there are 15 Welsh links to the League One play-off final between Oxford United and Bolton Wanderers.
And Mark Harris hopes the Cardiff connection will prove key for Oxford as they look to return to the second tier of English football for the first time since 1999.
Harris is part of a quartet of former Bluebirds in the United squad, along with defenders Ciaron Brown and Joe Bennett and winger Josh Murphy.
"There's four of us so hopefully we can get the job done and get us back up into the Championship this weekend," said Harris, whose team-mate Billy Bodin has been capped once by Wales.
"It's a big thing for these guys to get back to the level they used to be at."
Another ex Bluebird, striker Cameron Jerome, is expected to be part of Bolton's squad after substitute appearances in their play-off semi-final games against Barnsley.
Almost certainly starting for Wanderers, meanwhile, will be Newport-born Aaron Collins, who has scored 14 goals in League One this season.
Collins - who was working in a fast-food restaurant 10 years ago to make ends meet - would play Championship football for the first time if he wins promotion.
Harris' international colleague Josh Sheehan is also likely to be in the Wanderers team, along with former Wales youth defender Gethin Jones, who has gone on to represent Australia at senior level.
Two other Welshmen, Declan John and Zachary Ashworth, have also been on Bolton's books this season.
"I played with Josh when I was on loan at Newport so I got to know him quite well," said Harris.
"I know Aaron through football circles and think I played with him for Wales at younger age groups, so it's going to be a good match-up.
"I've never played at Wembley before so I can't wait."
Especially if Harris manages to net his 20th goal of the season under the famous arch.
Playing and scoring regularly for Oxford explains why he has no regrets about the decision to cut ties with Cardiff last summer after almost 20 years on their books.
"I've said many times it was a tough decision to leave Cardiff. I'd been there since I was five and I loved my time there," said Swansea-born Harris.
"But it came to the point where I had to decide what was best for me, and at the time I thought that was Oxford.
"I've been playing lots of football, and hopefully I can help Oxford get up into the Championship and get back to the level I was at.
"Scoring my 20th goal of the season at Wembley... you couldn't get much better than that."