Wembley hero Seb Bassong offers Norwich City play-off advice

The Cameroonian defender was integral to Alex Neil's squad that beat Middlesbrough at Wembley in 2015 after navigating a two-legged semi-final against arch-rivals Ipswich Town. 

Bassong's story that season was remarkable. He was disregarded and sent out on loan to Championship rivals Watford before Neil recalled him shortly after succeeding Neil Adams in the hotseat. 

Norwich embarked on an incredible run after Neil's arrival to secure their place in the top six, losing just three of their 21 games following his appointment from Hamilton Academical. 

That play-off final win is still an achievement that Bassong holds close to his heart. The former Spurs defender recalls the day with warmth and is proud of his and the team's progress to reach that occasion. 

"For many reasons, when we got promoted and with the way the season went, it ranks amongst the top achievements in my career. I’d say within the top three," Bassong told the Pink Un via Free Bets.

"Emotionally and for what it represented as a team and individual effort, that makes it so special for me. 

"Everybody knows how I started the season. I went, shipped on loan, and then got called back. What we achieved as a team, the way I turned things around, and we turned things around together, that it took a great deal of effort and drive to be able to do that.  

"So that's why I put it in my top three, and the outcome, the end product, was just great. But at the end of the day, we got promoted and things were great. And you just forget and forgive all the issues that occurred along the way."

Norwich's class of 2023/24, under David Wagner's stewardship, hopes to replicate Bassong, Neil, Nathan Redmond, Cameron Jerome, and co.'s achievements by being successful through the top six. 

Their 5-0 drubbing over Rotherham moved them into the Championship's desired play-off positions after a 30-game absence. It was the latest moment in a season that has proven impossible to predict. 

A run similar to what Neil's side managed in that famous 2014/15 campaign has kept their hopes very much alive ahead of a weekend trip to Stoke - with their away form in desperate need of correction. 

Bassong has been an objective observer from afar but stressed the importance of consistency to any bid for finishing in the top six and is backing Norwich to reach the play-offs but to fall short of promotion. 

"I think they can do it," the ex-City defender said. Do they have what it takes to get promoted? I don't think so. Based on what the others are doing and the consistency they're showing, and now, they're only just inside the top six.  

Sebastian Bassong was a key part of Norwich City's play-off winning triumph. (Image: Martin Calver/Focus Images Ltd)

"It takes a lot of energy, focus, and performance to get into the top six. You need to take advantage of momentum, and that's going to take you to promotion. But that's another story. I might be wrong. Hopefully, for them, I'll be wrong, but I think it will be difficult for Norwich. 

"I haven't been following closely enough to give my in-depth expertise. I would be lying to say that I've been following every single game from start to finish.

"I am watching from afar, watching result highlights though and when I have time, full games. They’re in the mix but need to be consistent to make the playoffs."

If Norwich do reach the top six, Bassong understands the minerals of what is required to come through them. 

Neil cultivated a togetherness and a siege mentality that served that play-off winning group well and allowed them to thrive under pressure. 

Bassong has described the necessary ingredients to getting across the line in a promotion shoot-out and the minerals required as he recalls how the team he was part of conjured success from an unlikely position. 

"Consistency and trust, regardless of what's happening, are important because you know beforehand that you're going to go through a tough time," Bassong said. "If you don't know that, then you're in the wrong place.  

"You know that there's no team that's going to just wither away and roll over. So, when you're aware of that, it’s the ability to be consistent and trust your team mates fully.   

"You have to build such a strong family, a strong group with almost telepathic abilities that when your mate is down, he knows that you're going to come and pick him up because he'll be down at some point, and you'll be down at some point.  

"When you have this unconscious thought process, the level of confidence is so high that there's no way you can lose. And that's what happened with us.  

"We knew, and I always discuss it with Bradley Johnson, that when we were fist-bumping each other, we didn't have to speak; we just had to look to one another. 

"If you look back, we didn't even shout to one another, like just to showcase that I'm into it. No, look, a small word, he knows what I want. They know what I want. I know what they want. We're clear.

"When you're clear, you don't need to shout. You don't need to express, those type of things just to showcase and to prove things to people. You know each other, and you get the job done.  

"But that kind of mindset and atmosphere, you have to build it. You have to build it into those intimate relationships when you speak to one another, what do you want? What do I want? That's what I talk about. And then trust me, you can go anywhere, you're going to win."

Bassong enjoyed the end of that famous campaign under Alex Neil. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

Bassong, who announced his retirement from professional football in January 2020, made 135 appearances during a five-year spell at Carrow Road after joining from Tottenham Hotspur in 2012. 

He went on to play for Peterborough United and Greek side Volos before hanging up his boots after a career that saw him play 177 Premier League matches - including 93 during his time at Norwich. 

On that famous day at Wembley, Bassong was partnered by Russell Martin in a defence that also contained Steven Whittaker and Martin Olsson. 

Olsson is still playing professionally for Malmo whilst Martin and Whittaker have moved into coaching since calling time on their playing days. 

Martin is managing Southampton in the Championship, whilst Whittaker is Scott Brown's assistant at Scottish outfit Ayr United. 

Coaching isn't an avenue that appealed to Bassong, who is now specialising in empowering athletes and leaders for peak performance through mental coaching and keynote speaking, feels football took too much from him to transition into management. 

"No, not at all. I didn't know that Whitts went to coaching. I speak to Russell every now and then. But no, I didn't consider going into coaching for the only reason. I love football, and there's a different type of love for football. 

"I'm coaching mentally. I’m doing a lot of coaching in terms of personal and professional development for teams. That's my way to coach. But on the pitch, I'm not patient enough, and I don't think I have what it takes now," Bassong said. 

"People keep telling me, 'Seb, you should be coaching; you've been there, you've been all right', but that's what you want from me. That's not what I want. I don't feel it. And for me, it takes way more than being a player to be a coach because you have to deal with a lot of people. 

Seb Bassong has explained why he won't be following Russell Martin into coaching. (Image: Paul Chesterton/Focus Images Ltd)

"And I don't think that because you've been a professional and a great player, you're going to be a great coach. It's a different ballgame. You need to have different characteristics and the type of love and dedication to the game. Honestly, I don't see myself ever being a coach. 

"Football took me so much as a player. It took me a lot. It took my body. Being a coach would mean that I go back into it for an even longer period.

"Because if I'm a coach, I'm 37, I'm not going to stop being a coach before 60. Look at the managers. So, you can take your whole life. It's a matter of decision, but I wish them all the best."