'Wembley is Salford's biggest moment' - Robinson

Having been taken over by the 'Class of 92' in 2014, Salford City rose through the ranks quickly.

The Ammies won four promotions in five seasons after that takeover, going from regional football to the English Football League in quick succession.

Yet that run ended in 2019 when the club were promoted from the National League, as they have remained in League Two ever since.

Salford came closest to adding another promotion to their trophy cabinet in 2023 when they reached the play-off semi-finals, but they were knocked out by near neighbours Stockport County.

Fast forward to this year and, under the stewardship of Karl Robinson, promotion looked a possibility until they narrowly missed out on a top three spot on the final day of the 2025-26 campaign.

And so the play-offs beckoned - for only the second time during their stint in the EFL - and Friday's extra-time second leg win over Grimsby Town.

Robinson, not a man to mince his words, did not hold back in his assessment of where their spot at Wembley in 10 days' time ranks.

"This is the second biggest night in the club's history," he told BBC Radio Manchester.

"[But] Wembley is the biggest occasion in the club's history."

Having risen to the EFL, a period of stagnation has followed for the Ammies as results on the field failed to match the ambition shown off it.

Robinson has been in post for almost two-and-a-half years and kept the club in the division in his first season in charge before stabilising them to the point that they could challenge for promotion this term.

Yet he acknowledges how important his predecessors were in advancing them to their current position.

"When Graham [Alexander] got the club from the National League into the English Football League it was monumental. Because that's the hardest promotion to get and we're in the footsteps of that," Robinson added.

"There's been so many managers who have come here over the past five or six years and every single person has played their part in that."

Last year, David Beckham and Gary Neville completed a takeover of the club, buying out the rest of the Class of 92.

Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes and Phil Neville still remain involved, and Robinson believes the influence the group have and the investment they have cultivated means the club is in a positive position for the future.

"Nicky should be managing, Ryan should be managing and so should Paul," Robinson added.

"With David even more involved, and Gary even more involved now, and the changes that come ahead of me, I think it's a really exciting time for the football club.

"I don't think now that people will not know who Salford is. You've seen something here that has epitomised this city."

Kallum Cesay scored the decisive goal to send Salford through to Wembley, and it was an emotional moment for the young defender, who recently lost his father.

Cesay's father was a former boxer who represented Sierra Leone at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester.

"I was at his dad's funeral on Tuesday. There are small things people don't see. I went there to represent the football club and it brought me to tears," Robinson added.

"His dad was a credit to the boxing world. His dad is an icon in East London and when you speak about the names who were there and he respect he carried in his world. His son is in his world now creating a name for himself."

Salford's trip to Wembley on 25 May also marks the end of an ultimately short-lived era.

Earlier this season the club's supporters voted to change the club's primary home shirt colour back to orange, having played in red since the arrival of the Class of 92 in 2014.

"It's the last time we wear red here and in my time here, red has served as a wonderful purpose to us," Robinson said.

"We say goodbye to that and we wear our red kit for one last time at Wembley."