Old Rangers friends set to be best of enemies

CARDIFF winger Chris Burke is hoping that childhood friend Charlie Adam does not become an enemy at Wembley this afternoon.

Adam has been in sensational form as Blackpool shocked pundits and fans alike by making their way to the Coca-Cola Championship play-off final where Dave Jones' Cardiff await.

Burke, 26, came through the same Rangers youth set-up as Adam before both players left Ibrox for England's second tier last year. Burke has blossomed for the Bluebirds, scoring ten times while at Bloomfield Road Adam has hit 18 goals to become one of the signings of the season.

All eyes will be on Adam at Wembley but despite knowing his game inside out, Burke insists that he will receive no special treatment from Cardiff's back four. Burke said: "I practically grew up with Charlie Adam at Rangers. People said it was a gamble for Blackpool to pay 500,000 for someone who was hardly heard of last summer but I knew that he was going to be a fantastic signing. He can spot a pass, dribble, likes a tackle and scores goals. He'll always get double figures for any team that he plays in.

"Charlie is a top lad and a bit of a joker and he gets the guys up for a game. He will be key for their morale but we have to concentrate on ourselves. We have not set out any special plans. The way we got here is doing the same thing week in week out and we will not change our plans for this one game."

Burke and his Cardiff team-mates are set to start the game as favourites but the winger is adamant that they will not underestimate Ian Holloway's side. Blackpool produced a sensational attacking display to dispatch Nottingham Forest in the semi-finals and Burke is wary of the threat they pose.

He said: "I can assure you nobody at this club will underestimate Blackpool. They are in the final because they deserve to be. It's as simple as that. We all watched the Forest game and they were fantastic in the second leg. They will set out to attack us and they have players who can score goals. So we know it will be tough. But we are 90 minutes away from promotion and we all can't wait for the game to start."

Burke and Adam make up a remarkable tally of Scots on duty at Wembley today, who could account for almost half of the players involved. There are five in the Blackpool squad (Adam, Stephen Crainey, Stephen Dobbie, Barry Bannan and Stephen Husband) and five in the Cardiff City ranks (Burke, David Marshall, Kevin McNaughton, Paul Quinn and Ross McCormack).

Holloway's signing of Adam from Rangers has proved crucial to his side's rise, but loan players like DJ Campbell and David Vaughan have also played pivotal roles.

When Holloway took charge, his brief from chairman Karl Oyston was a simple one: keep the club in the Championship. Yet, incredibly, he may take them out of the second tier and into the Barclays Premier League.

Holloway has poured confidence into his players and instilled an energy and desire not seen at Bloomfield Road since Sir Stanley Matthews and Jimmy Armfield were in their pomp.

Holloway explained: "When I arrived here I tried to share my vision of what I wanted to do with the players. It's expansive, attacking football and ever since we beat Everton in a pre-season game the lads have been absolutely magnificent.

"They have made it an environment of encouragement so we can play freely with no fear. But it's the energy of the whole club. It's changing and it's actually starting to believe in itself because I believe in it. I believe in the history of the place, I believe in the people here and I always believed there was a fantastic core group of players.

"I wanted to add some extravagance going forward. Luckily, the board has allowed me to add some of those players which has made a huge difference and added to the optimism of the group. They have gone out there in the Championship and got better all season."

Blackpool would be the smallest club in the top flight since the formation of the Premier League if they were to beat Cardiff. This season their average home crowd of 8,611 was the second-lowest in the Championship – only Scunthorpe attracted fewer spectators.

"I'm trying to build something here and I've only just started," said Holloway.

"If we go up and can get people popping down the M55 motorway to Bloomfield Road then everybody in the town will prosper. I'd love that because people have been so welcoming and so genuine in their love of what we're trying to do here. It's not just our lives we're trying to change – it's everybody in the town."