GEOFF HUTT believes Town will thrive in the “intense” atmosphere of the play-off semi-final second leg.

The former top-flight defender watches Lee Clark’s side on a regular basis and believes they will see the job through against Bournemouth at the Galpharm tomorrow (7.45) to reach the final at Old Trafford.

Popular Hutt, 61, a Second Division (now Championship) title winner with Town in 1970, then hopes the club will go one step further and win promotion for the fans who have backed them in numbers all campaign.

“The following the club get is a credit to the town of Huddersfield and I sincerely hope the players can finish a terrific season with promotion,” said former left-back Hutt, who was at Dean Court on Saturday for the 1-1 semi-final first leg.

“The fans deserve it, as do the staff at the club, the management and the players, so I’m just keeping my fingers crossed we can get the results we need in two more games.

“It’s knockout football and it will be very intense tomorrow.

“The play-offs are great from that point of view, they give you a chance to go up when you’ve missed out on automatic and the chance to play at Old Trafford in front of a near sell-out is something not to be missed.

“There’s a big job to do against Bournemouth first and the atmosphere and tension will be huge, but hopefully with the players we’ve got and their experience it will stand us in good stead.”

So who does Hutt think is key to Town’s chances of success?

“I think Kevin Kilbane has done a hell of a job in the middle of the park since he joined us from Hull City in January,” explained Hutt, who works for the club on matchdays.

“The shape of the side and the performances have been good and you can’t take a record run of what is now 26 unbeaten league matches away from them.

“You would have expected a run like that to have taken them to automatic promotion, but it didn’t work out that way and the good thing is we are still in with a great chance of going up.”

Hutt wishes the play-offs had been thought of in his playing days.

“I think we would have loved it,” said the man who played 277 times for the club before joining Dutch side Haarlem in 1976.

“In my day you finished either first or second to go up and that was it. There were no second chances and if you finished third it was hard luck, try again next season.

“At the beginning of the season, you can now always set your sights on reaching the play-offs. If you win automatic promotion then great, but if not you’ve got another chance.

“That’s where we are now. We were the form team and I’ll be backing the boys all the way to prove they deserve to go up.”