HUDDERSFIELD Town's Dean Heffernan has talked up Huddersfield Town fans in a big interview with one of Australia's most respected newspapers.
The World Cup wannabe described Town fans as "fanatical" and said the atmosphere created by the Galpharm faithful was "brilliant".
The left-back was speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald just a few weeks ahead of the announcement of Australia's squad for the World Cup.
Socceroo coach Pim Verbeek will name his provisional squad 30 man for the tournament on May 11.
Heffernan said playing football for Huddersfield Town was was rewarding: "We're considered the entertainers of the league as we play a very attacking game. You wouldn't believe the fans here, they're fanatical.
"We get over 15,000 a game and they're expecting our next home game to be 25,000 - a sell-out - and the atmosphere they create is brilliant.''
The 29-year-old defender admits his hopes of joining the squad for South Africa have been improved by his time at Town.
His former Central Coast Mariners coach, Lawrie McKinna, has flagged him as the dark horse for the Socceroos' 23-man squad, while assistant national coach Graham Arnold has reportedly been told to keep a close eye on Heffernan in Europe.
''In the end, the main driving force for me to play the game in England at this higher level is for intensity, the fitness to hopefully help my [World Cup] cause.
''I played four games in 11 days and none of them slowed down, so it shows you work.
''From playing months of constant football I look at the [World Cup] tournament and think, 'One game every four days? I could cruise through it!'''
Heffernan, whose girlfriend joined him in the UK earlier this year, said it was great to play against some of the well-known names in football including Norwich City, Leeds United and Charlton Athletic.
''The games are all played at a faster pace than home. One of the major reasons is the weather, because you couldn't possibly play that tempo with the [summer] weather [in Australia].
"The players in League One are predominantly English and they've grown up watching Manchester United and Liverpool and what I love is they are so hungry to not only win, but to progress as well.''
Read the full text of the interview here.
