Middlesbrough v Aston Villa preview: Key moment with Villa at crucial crossroads

It is nowhere near a stretch to say what happens in the play-offs will likely determine the short and mid-term future of the club.

Win promotion at Wembley three Saturdays from now and – with Premier League status restored – owner Tony Xia would have the chance to make progress on the ambitious vision outlined when he arrived at Villa Park nearly two years ago.

Fail, though, and the outlook is at best uncertain. At the very least, it is fair to say it could be some time before the club is again in such a strong position to escape the Championship as they are now.

So then, no pressure...

The good news is high stakes encounters have tended to bring out the best in Villa team packed with players who have been there, seen it and done it before where the play-offs are concerned. Boss Steve Bruce will be banking on such big game experience seeing his side through, first in a two-legged semi-final with Middlesbrough and then in a Wembley final against either Derby or Fulham.

“If you had given us this position at the start of the season we would have taken it,” said Mile Jedinak, one of those players who has tasted glory in the play-offs before.

“Now that we’re here finally, it’s something that we’re all really looking forward to. Not only as a playing group, but as a football club.”

Jedinak, who captained Crystal Palace to victory over Watford at Wembley five years ago, believes those experiences “cannot be taken lightly” when factoring in who might have the edge.

The Australian international is less convinced Villa might have an advantage based on their previous record against their semi-final opponents this season.

In two games, Bruce’s men took four points from Boro and didn’t concede a goal. That included a 1-0 win at the Riverside in Tony Pulis’s first game in charge of the hosts, a result which has rightly been cited as a turning point in Villa’s own campaign.

But Jedinak believes form now goes out of the window.

“It’s going to be about who can control their nerve the most over the two legs and hopefully that will be us,” he said.

“It’s going to be looking ahead. It’s a one-off. It’s who can hold their nerve on the day with the whole experience and the build-up and then produce a performance that deserves to make you go up.

“I remember the year we went up (with Palace) we didn’t beat Watford in the league. We had a draw and a loss.

“You’ve just got to focus on that day. That 90 minutes, that 120 minutes or whatever it may be and you put all your efforts into that.

“You’re not playing for three points – there’s something greater at stake. I think when you put all those things together, that’s why league form can go out the window.”