'Devastation to incredible': Phillips on his play-off final extremes

It is a match that defines seasons or even careers, sends players and fans into agony or ecstasy and can shape the entire future of a football club.

The Championship play-off final really is a fixture like no other as Sheffield United and Sunderland will find out at Wembley on Saturday (15:01 BST).

It is the most lucrative single game in world football as players and clubs battle to reach the land of milk and honey - the Premier League.

Few people are perhaps as synonymous with it as former England striker Kevin Phillips.

He played in four Championship play-off deciders across a 15-year period and experienced the highs and lows of this showpiece occasion.

Here Phillips, now 51, talks BBC Sport through the four matches and the impact they had on those clubs and his career.

Charlton Athletic 4-4 Sunderland (25 May 1998)

Phillips had enjoyed a spectacular breakthrough season after ing Sunderland the previous summer for a bargain £325,000 from Watford.

He had netted 33 goals in a deadly partnership with Niall Quinn as the Black Cats were only pipped for automatic promotion on the final day.

Phillips grabbed the winner in the play-off semi-final against... wait for it.... yes, Sheffield United, at an electric Stadium of Light to take Sunderland to Wembley where they were up against Alan Curbishley's Addicks.

What unfolded was an absolute classic.

Charlton led once and Sunderland three times but, after eight goals and 120 gruelling minutes, including a hat-trick from Sunderland-raised Charlton striker and boyhood Black Cats fan Clive Mendonca, the two teams could not be separated.

And it took the 14th spot-kick to find a fall guy as Michael Gray's penalty was saved by Sasa Ilic and Charlton were promoted.

Phillips had scored one of the Black Cats' goals but, struggling with cramp, he had to be substituted early and could only watch on as his promotion dream fell short.

"The game typified how teams played back then," he recalls. "We're going for it, we're not going to be cagey and sit in.

"That's how we played. Back to front, get it wide, get balls in the box and Charlton weren't too dissimilar.

"We knew deep down it would be entertaining, but not eight goals and a penalty shootout!

"I don't think there have been too many finals like that since."

Having come so close to promotion via both avenues, there was understandable anger and devastation in the Sunderland dressing room.

But the seeds for the following season were immediately sown in the bowels of the old stadium.

When they returned from their holidays, Peter Reid's side collected a then-record 105 points to cruise to the title and a ticket to the top flight.

"It was very quiet but our captain Kevin Ball stood up in the dressing room and said: 'What are we going to do now"Graphic image of, from left to right, Alex Albon, George Russell, Max Verstappen, Lewis Hamilton, Lando Norris, Fernando Alonso and Oliver Bearman. It is on a blue background with 'Fan Q&A' below the drivers " loading="lazy" src="https://image.staticox.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fichef.bbci.co.uk%2Face%2Fstandard%2F480%2Fsprodpb%2F7ff9%2Flive%2Fd42302e0-34b3-11f0-8519-3b5a01ebe413.jpg" width="385" height="216" class="ssrcss-11yxrdo-Image edrdn950"/>