Exclusive: Joe Jacobson drops confident Wycombe Wanderers promotion prediction | OneFootball

Joe Jacobson gives his verdict on Wycombe Wanderers' chances in the League One Play-Offs.

Joe Jacobson has admitted that his former side Wycombe Wanderers have "a great chance" in the League One play-offs after they fell short of automatic promotion.

For most of the season, the Chairboys were in a two-way battle with Wrexham AFC for second place, but a poor conclusion to the campaign ultimately cost them. In the past seven games, they have only managed three wins, with damaging defeats to Charlton Athletic and Leyton Orient in recent weeks handing the advantage to the Red Dragons.

Now, with automatic promotion out of reach, Mike Dodds' side can fully focus on the play-offs - an avenue that has treated them kindly previously. In 2019-20, Gareth Ainsworth led Wycombe to the Championship via the system and in 2021-22 they fell just short at the hands of Sunderland.

To return to the second tier, the Buckinghamshire outfit will need to put recent setbacks behind them and recapture the form that saw them flying earlier in the campaign.

Joe Jacobson is backing Wycombe Wanderers in the play-offs

Speaking exclusively to Football League World about the Chairboys chances in the play-offs, ex-Wycombe defender turned EFL pundit, Joe Jacobson, has admitted that Dodds' side can take confidence from the season that they have had.

"Wycombe have a great chance in the play-offs," Jacobson told FLW.

"They have shown all season that they can beat the best teams and compete. They have had a little bit of a blip where they have lost the last couple of games and Wrexham have won their games. All of a sudden, Wrexham have pipped them. But you don't stay in the top two for as long as they have and not be a really good team.

"They have got people like Richard Kone who have had a brilliant season; they have got players who can win games of football by themselves, and a lot of those players will be desperate to prove a point in the play-offs.

"You look at the teams in the play-offs - guaranteed are Stockport, who have gone under the radar a little bit. Challinor has done an amazing job there and, for me, is manager of the season. But then again, Wycombe did beat them 5–0 away from home earlier on in the season and play them on the last day, so will be taking confidence from that.

"They had a poor result against Charlton recently, which will have hurt them - and Orient similar, and Reading similar. So I don't think they will be looking at anyone thinking that one is easier than another - they are all tough games.

"They will be going into these play-offs with the confidence that they can win it."

Wycombe have to approach play-offs with a fearless attitude

Arguably, this is one of the most open play-offs we've seen in years, with Wycombe, Charlton, Stockport, and either Reading or Orient all exceptionally well-matched.

Each team has the capability of beating the others, and for the Chairboys, that means they must approach every game with a "nothing to lose" attitude.

In recent weeks, they can be criticised for trying to cling onto their promotion place, and it’s clear that approach didn’t work out. In the play-offs, if you go in too cautiously, teams will tear you apart - and that's something Wycombe cannot afford to do.

At the start of the season, they were outscoring teams with ease, and if they can rediscover that exciting form, they may just secure a return to the second tier.