I've played more than 500 games in my career, but I can't think of any bigger than on Sunday.
The stakes could not be higher: if we win, we stay in the Championship; if we don't, Palace stay up. Either way, one set of fans, staff and players will be elated while the other will be facing up to life in League One next season.
To say it's been a rollercoaster of emotions and feelings in the past week barely comes close to describing the last few days.
After all the hype surrounding , we have been straight back down to earth this week preparing for Saturday's vital trip to .
and, with more than 35,000 fans at Hillsborough last Sunday, the atmosphere was electric. The supporters helped us to a 1-1 draw - the fans had been looking forward to the game as much as the players - and the occasion certainly didn't disappoint. It wasn't pretty, that's for sure, but derbies rarely are.
The way the game unfolded made us feel that we should have taken all three points, but unfortunately Lee Williamson fired in a free-kick off the back post to cancel out Darren Potter's first-half goal. It was gut wrenching for us, to be honest, but if you look at the match as a whole you would probably say a draw was a fair result. Neither team really took their chances.
The Easter weekend is a vital time for clubs and playing two games in three days is always a tall order, with recovery a huge factor.
It's vital to eat the right food, rehydrate and get as much energy back into your body as possible. You have to look after yourself if you are going to give everything you have in such a short timeframe.
After Saturday's game at , we will return to the training ground on Sunday for a 'cool down' session.
Players with any niggling injuries or knocks will be seen to while those that didn't play will be topping up their fitness to make sure they are good to go if called upon for Monday's match at home to Bristol City.
Everyone must be revved up and ready for the games coming up.
Jump to more content from this blog
Hi, I'm Michael Gray. I've played more than 500 league games for Sunderland, Celtic, Blackburn, Leeds, Wolves and Sheffield Wednesday over the past 17 seasons. I'm currently enjoying life at ambitious Sheffield Wednesday and the aim of my blog is to provide an insight into the life of a footballer.
You can stay up to date with Michael Gray via these feeds.
Michael Gray Feed(RSS)
Michael Gray Feed(ATOM)
If you aren't sure what RSS is you'll find useful.
Visit our football page
Visit the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Sport website
´óÏó´«Ã½ © 2014 The ´óÏó´«Ã½ is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.
This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.
