The promotion of old rivals Bradford City from League Two in 2012/13 might not be a high spot in the minds of Huddersfield Town fans.
But former Bantams favourite Nahki Wells sees parallels which provide promise as David Wagner’s side push for promotion to the Premier League.
Wells was Bradford’s 26-goal top scorer four seasons ago, when City also made the Capital One Cup final.
Having been 12th in February, Phil Parkinson’s charges made the play-offs by two points.
Burton Albion were seen off in the semi-finals and Northampton Town beaten 3-0 back at Wembley, where Wells and Co had lost 5-0 to Swansea City in the League Cup showpiece.
The Bermudian international’s frontline partner James Hanson, midfielder Gary Jones and defender Rory McArdle were among the mainstays of the successful side.
As he prepared to face Ipswich Town at the John Smith’s Stadium, Wells, who joined Town in a £1.3m move three years ago, recalled: “There are a lot of similarities.
“At Bradford, like here, it’s a tight-knit squad with no clash of heads personality wise.
“It does seem that bigger squads can cause issues, but here, all the players are always pushing for a place and have a realistic chance of featuring.
“There’s a real group spirit here, as there was at Bradford, where we really came together to get over the line.
“After going out of the Capital One Cup, we put a run together and went into play-offs with momentum.
“This is a period where momentum is everything, and while we were all disappointed to lose at Sheffield Wednesday last Saturday, we know what went wrong.”
The 2-0 loss at Hillsborough was Town’s first in eight league games, five of which were won.
“Some big calls from the referee went against us,” added Wells.
“If we had got one of decisions, things might have been very different.
“But we tick it off and go again.”
Wells, 26, has 46 Town goals in all, and has been leading marksman for the last two seasons.
He has seven this term, two fewer than Elias Kachunga.
“We have been playing slightly differently, using the width of the pitch as opposed to the centre,” he explained.
“Different types of chances have been created, and I haven’t got on the end of quite as many.
“But I have my targets, I still back myself in front of goal and it’s a long season.”
