THE cheers from the Lincoln faithful which greeted the news that their side would be taking on Town in the play-offs proved memories of Pawel Abbott's controversial McAlpine winner in February haven't gone away.

And Imps player Ben Sedgemore has confirmed he and his teammates will go into the two-legged showdown with a point to prove after that 2-1 defeat which hinged on a goal which they will always say was offside.

But Sincil Bank boss Keith Alexander is eager to draw a line under the episode and focus firmly on the future.

"I think everyone knows what happened," said Alexander of the goal which was allowed to stand by referee George Cain.

"I said my piece about it then but we can't allow it to overshadow the two games coming up.

"We're all looking forward to this fresh challenge, and I'm not bothered about what has gone on in the past.

"We now have to give our full concentration on these next two matches which will make or break the future of this club."

While Alexander is looking forward, midfielder Sedgemore had admitted the past is an issue.

"We've got Huddersfield over two legs and that couldn't be better for anyone," he said.

"You've only got to rewind your video recorder to see what happened up there, so I don't think there will be any danger of us not being fired up for it.

"I always thought it would pan out this way, to be honest.

"Torquay are a very good side and have beaten us twice this season. Not many can say that.

"Huddersfield will be upset at missing out on third place.

"But we'll be looking to give it our best shot in both games and they won't relish playing us.

"Two legs suits us down to the ground. We've got a good record against all the sides in the play-offs and our destiny is in our own hands. There's no-one to be scared of and I don't think it could have worked out any better."

Both Town, beaten 3-1 at Lincoln in October, and the Imps will be looking to improve on disappointing displays on the final day of the regular season.

While Town had to make do with a draw at Cheltenham - failure to win cost them automatic promotion - Lincoln went down 3-2 at home to Yeovil.

"It would have been nice to send the fans home happy with a win against Yeovil, but I think we've done that in the other 45 games this season," said Sedgemore.

Boss Alexander added: "I'd be the first to admit we've not played well in the last few matches, but it's been difficult going into games knowing we just needed a point.

"Form is not my biggest concern, it's fatigue. We'll have a very light week and hopefully my full squad will be available."

THE men in black have been appointed for Town's play-off semi-final against Lincoln.

Whitley Bay official Graham Laws is in charge at Sincil Bank (his third Town match this term) while Mike Pike from Cumbria has the whistle at the McAlpine.