English Football League / Ben Herd / 07 May 2009 /

Shrewsbury's right back is in bullish mood as he talks of his elation at reaching the play-offs and explains why promotion is vital to both club and town...

Although I wasn't involved on Saturday, it was nonetheless a fantastic result which propelled us into the play-offs.

From what the lads told me, Saturday's game away at Dagenham was a tough encounter on a terrible surface. Credit to the players, because there was only one result that was good enough for us and that was the win.

Promotion is everything to this club, right the way from the Chairman to Graham in the office and, having lived in Shrewsbury for over four years now, I know what it would mean for the fans. As any player would tell you, promotion is the thing you set out for at the beginning of the season, that's what all the sweat and running is about when you turn up for pre-season training in July.

As a club now, we have an opportunity to take Shrewsbury into a division that befits our ambition and facilities. It doesn't matter who we face in the play-offs because when I look around the changing room and see the squad that we have, it fills me with confidence that we can beat anyone in this division.

As it happens, we take on Bury twice this week, and I am expecting tight, cagey affairs. Having been involved in the play-offs a couple of years ago, I can tell you that the atmospheres at these types of games are a bit special, especially at home when you're playing in front of a full house.

Obviously, every team has their danger men and you have to respect them for this. Bury are no different. The obvious one is Andy Bishop, who has been linked with numerous Championship clubs. I don't want to concentrate too much on the opposition because, as I said before, it's down to us to grab this opportunity and go to the next level. One thing is for sure - the other play-off teams won't want to play us.

Last week was a busy week as we had two award evenings. One was the Annual Supporters' Awards which is a great opportunity for players and fans alike to mingle. Out of all the award nights that we have, this is my favourite, purely for the reason mentioned above. Unfortunately, this year was the first time I have come away without an award, but I did get some consolation as a fan gave me a trophy which had "Ben Herd - best right-back ever" inscripted on it. That made my night.

I also felt privileged that I was asked to present an award, which also meant a lot to me. Since I arrived at Shrewsbury, I have been made to feel very welcome by the fans and I think it is important for footballers to remember who ultimately does pay their wages. A club at our level, needs to keep in touch with its fans, and events like this are a perfect opportunity for this to happen and for fans to tell you what they would do if they were manager!

The other awards dinner was on Sunday night, a slightly posher do, black tie n' all. This evening saw Grant Holt walk away with pretty much every gong going. One of the funniest bits of the evening was the MC asking Grant Holt what his best goal of the season was.....after presenting him with an award for best goal of the season!

The comedian was probably the worst I've ever seen and he duly got heckled from the crowd...Where do they get them from!?

Another player who picked up an award recently is Ryan Giggs. At the risk of blowing my own trumpet, I did tip him to win a few weeks back. I cannot believe that a player such as Giggs has never won PFA Player of the year before - after all he has won loads of Premier League titles and is Manchester United's record appearance holder.

The critics out there will point to the fact that he's only started something like 12 Premier League games but, for me, that just shows you how influential he has been in those games.

To be honest, the award could've gone to a number of United players this season, they've been that good, and it made my evening on Tuesday when they demolished Arsenal. If any kid is looking for a role model as a footballer, then look no further than Giggs. How often is it that you see him coming out of night clubs looking worst for wear in the paper?

Giggs has the perfect opportunity to add to his growing collection of medals by winning this year's Premier League title. United have the perfect opportunity to really put distance between themselves and Liverpool by overcoming Manchester City this weekend at Old Trafford.

United are back to their best if you ask me - and Fergie will want to keep that momentum going. Although City are in decent enough form I cannot see past a United win at [1.4].

I definitely think Fergie will start with Carlos Tevez as he didn't play midweek. So I would bank on him popping up with a goal at some point, probably at about [3.5] in the To Score market. Finally, I can see this one being tight so I would fill your boots with Under 2.5 goals at [2.26].

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