GARY NAYSMITH is ready to put his big-match experience to good use as Town aim to take a major step towards the Championship by beating Bournemouth at the Galpharm tonight.
The 32-year-old left-back has long been used to pressure situations, having made his Hearts debut in a Scottish League Cup clash with Celtic – which the Edinburgh side won 1-0.
The 46-times capped Scotland star also helped the Maroons end a 36-year-wait for a major trophy by beating Rangers 2-1 in the 1998 Scottish Cup final.
Town are desperate to end a 10-year absence from English football’s second tier.
And Naysmith, who shone in the Premier League with Everton, is determined to do his bit.
While he knows Bournemouth will be tough League I play-off semi-final second leg opponents, the summer signing from Sheffield United is confident Lee Clark’s side can make the final.
“We were disappointed by Saturday’s (1-1) draw, because we thought we should have won, but it was still a decent result, because we went away and didn’t lose,” he said.
“It was a bit of a quiet dressing room straight after the final whistle, because having gone ahead, we missed a couple of chances to make it two.
“And after Bournemouth equalised, we never really regained our rhythm, which is something we’ve been addressing this week.”
Naysmith believes flying to and from the South coast match helped, explaining: “It meant we got a good night’s sleep on Saturday.
“We were in on Sunday for a recovery session, and on Monday, went through the DVD to see what we did right and where we went wrong.
“Those little details can make all the difference, because after three draws in as many meetings this season there’s clearly not much between us.
“Bournemouth came up to our place back in September and played well to get a 2-2 result, but we have home advantage now and we aim to use it.
“It’s a massive match, but also an occasion to enjoy, because they don’t come around too often.
“Our fans are superb, and I know they’ll be out in their numbers making plenty of noise.
“They may have to be patient, but we’ll be giving it our all to make the final.”
Naysmith, who has tasted defeat only once in his 17 Town appearances (on his return to Everton in the Carling Cup second round back in August) added: “We’ve worked hard to be in this situation.
“We are 26 unbeaten in league games, we’re right in it and we have a fantastic opportunity to make a big final.
“Often in these situations, it can be down to who turns up on the night, and experienced lads like myself, Kevin Kilbane, Peter Clarke and Ian Bennett will do all we can to make that happen.”
Naysmith believes 34-year-old Kilbane, the scorer of Town’s first-leg goal. has been a huge influence since arriving on loan from Hull in January.
“He’s a proper team player who has really bought into this club, and a lot of the work he does goes unnoticed,” he said.
“It’s been well documented that the gaffer wanted more experience in the ranks this season, and you can’t be much more experienced than Kev.
“All the lads like him and know that if we can make the Championship, we probably have a better chance of keeping him, which is an incentive in itself.”
