HUDDERSFIELD Town's best chance of reaching Wembley is to “get right in the faces” of play-off opponents MK Dons.

That’s the verdict of former Leeds Road star Geoff Hutt, who never misses a game at the Galpharm and is praying Simon Grayson’s men can make it third time lucky for promotion from League I.

Hutt, 62, was pleased with an improved performance in Saturday’s 2-0 home win against Yeovil which moved Town up to fourth – meaning they visit stadium:mk on Saturday (12.30) before the semi-final second leg at home next Tuesday (7.45).

“We can get through to the final, of course we can, but we need to up our game from what we’ve been seeing recently,” said Hutt, a Second Division (now Championship) title winner with Town in 1969-70.

“The biggest thing we’ve got to do against MK Dons is to press them up the field.

“They like to play football out from the back, knock the ball around from defence, so it’s important we get right in their faces.

“If we do that and put pressure on their back line, then they will give us the ball back time after time and then we can go and capitalise.

“I think that will be our best approach to the two legs, and I do think we’ve got enough in our locker to get us through.”

Hutt’s theory was embellished by MK Dons’ display at the Galpharm in February, when they drew 1-1, and also by their FA Cup performance against Premier League QPR.

“I watched that cup-tie against QPR and I can’t remember seeing a team give the ball away more than MK Dons,” he explained.

“That’s why I think it’s so important to press them back and create pressure to make them make mistakes, so it’s vital the whole team do their jobs, and the two lads up front – probably Jordan Rhodes and Lee Novak – have to be the first line of defence.

“In terms of performance, I don’t think we’ve played that well all season.

“I know we’ve been picking up results, but for me we haven’t had the controlling influence in midfield and were it not for Jordan’s goals, we might have been struggling to make the top six.

“The great thing about the play-offs, though, is that the opportunity is still there to win promotion if the lads can just up their game for another three matches.

“It’s not always the favourites who go up – we know that only too painfully from last season – so everyone needs to be focused on doing a good job for the team and giving it 100%.”

Hutt says he would have handled Rhodes differently over the last couple of weeks.

Even knowing the risk for injury, he would have started him against Walsall and Yeovil in the hope he could take his tally from 38 to 40 goals for the season – a massive confidence boost.

“There’s nothing better than for a goalscorer to be among the goals and, in Jordan, we’ve got one of the best around,” he explained.

“I can understand why the manager has done what he’s done, but I would have opted to play Jordan in these last couple of games.”

So what is the former left-back’s message to the players as they bid to reach the final against either Sheffield United or Stevenage at Wembley on May 26 (3.00).

“I would love to go in the changing room and give the lads a good talking to,” he said.

“They don’t want to be crying on the pitch after the second leg against MK Dons, like they were at Old Trafford last year, and that experience should really drive them on.

“Still, if anyone needs any extra incentive than to go through to play at Wembley for the chance of winning promotion then they don’t deserve to be there.

“If we go about it in the right way and everyone sticks to their jobs, then we should have enough.”