Lee Mossop wants Salford to enjoy their day at Old Trafford

Saturday is Salford’s golden chance to achieve an unprecedented Betfred Super League title triumph but Lee Mossop’s day will be about far more than just that.

Salford can make history by claiming the Betfred Super League crown at Old Trafford this Saturday, in a season in which the 150-1 outsiders have spectacularly surpassed all expectations.

Their victory over Wigan Warriors in semi-final two was just the latest in a long line of stunning victories.

Red Devils prop Mossop has been there all before, serving as part of Wigan’s all conquering 2013 outfit, and he understands how the Grand Final is not just about who wins and who loses.

“It’s about enjoying the day, these don’t come around all that often,” said Mossop, speaking at the Betfred Super League Awards.

“The amount of great players at the top of their game who don’t get to experience this, we’ve spoken about not letting this pass us by and enjoying the Grand Final as much as we can.”

The position Salford are in now is even more remarkable given an inconsistent start to the season which seemed to be opening another typical Red Devils campaign.

It would prove to be anything but as Salford, spurred on by a tenacity and team spirit unlike anything they have ever produced before, found a winning formula that they ran and ran with.

An eight-game winning run saw the Red Devils reach the play-offs and, despite an 18-12 qualifying final defeat to the Warriors, the same opponents were roundly seen off 28-4 on Friday as the dream run quite fittingly set up a final day showdown.

It is easy to forget that this is the same Salford side which only survived relegation on the final day of the regular season last year.

But for all their recent success, though, Mossop believes it is the underdogs tag which has really allowed Salford to thrive.

It is a label which they will carry once more, into the Grand Final, and the 30-year-old expects it to allow the Red Devils the freedom they need to perform at their best one last time.

He added: “We’ve gone into every game the underdogs, not expecting to win, and it’s served us well.

“We’re playing our best rugby and everyone is working hard for each other. It’s helped us.

“Going into the final as underdogs is no different. We’ve got a pretty mixed group with four or five who have played in the final before and then young guys who play best without nerves and just play their game.

“St Helens have been the standout team all year, it shows how far out on their own in the league they are.

“We need everyone to be at their best and to bring that eight or nine out of ten performance which hopefully on the day is enough.”

The Betfred Super League Grand Final is the biggest night in Super League and takes place at Old Trafford, the iconic home of Manchester United on Saturday 12 October (6pm KO). Secure your seat by visiting https://www.superleague.co.uk/tickets/grand-final