Chris Hughton has backed his “distraught” Brighton and Hove Albion side to lift themselves for the Championship play-offs - and make sure Huddersfield Town have two more derbies against Sheffield Wednesday next season.
The Seagulls were among the pacesetters all term but missed out on automatic promotion when they drew 1-1 at Middlesbrough on the final day.
They now face Sheffield Wednesday in the first leg of their semi-final at Hillsborough on Friday, with Derby County hosting Hull City on Saturday.
And Hughton is confident they can still follow Burnley and Boro into the Premier League, sparing Town a long tip to the South coast.
“The disappointment they showed at Middlesbrough highlights how close we have come,” he said.
“They are a very motivated squad and I would rather have seen a distraught changing room than anything different, and that’s because you can see what it means to them.
“We didn’t come away from the game with a loss and there were a lot of other positives the players gained.
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“They were distraught but I think that’s something they will use to their benefit.
“We now have to approach the Sheffield game the same as every other one this season.
“You have to have a similar approach to every game, it shouldn’t make it any different just because it’s a play-off game.
“Once you start doing things differently, it can knock you out of your rhythm.
“Our approach has been the same this week and we’ll look to get the same response.”
