Huddersfield Town travel to Wembley this weekend to take on Nottingham Forest in the Championship play-off final.
It’s not the first time the Terriers have been in this position after gaining promotion to the top flight via the play-offs in the 2016/17 season.
Although Huddersfield weren’t able to stay in the Premier League, former captain Tommy Smith feels the club have come a long way.
Having played against his former side this season with Stoke City, the 30-year-old told the Football Daily 72+ podcast: “To be fair to Huddersfield, the way they’ve gone about this season, the way they’ve played, you have to say they thoroughly deserve to be in the play-off mix.
“They’re a very well-drilled side, they’ve got a good manager, and yeah, they probably have surprised a lot of people based on last season’s finish, but as I’ve just said they thoroughly deserve to be in the play-offs and they’ve got an unbelievable chance now to go back to the Premier League.
”I think a lot of things have changed, notably the manager; a lot of players have changed; I would probably say expectations have changed. It’s definitely a different club to the one I was at. There’s probably two or three players who are there now when I was there.
“So a lot of changes have gone on but I think it’s great to see that they’re still in and around it and they’ve got a great chance of being promoted to the Premier League, which will be an amazing day down at Wembley on Sunday.
“It’s great for the Town, great for the people, and most definitely for [former chairman and now chief executive Dean Hoyle] who I still have a lot of time for and I still keep in contact with.”
The Verdict:
Last time Huddersfield were promoted to the Premier League, there seemed to be a sense that something special was being built and although they were relegated back down to the Championship, the changes for progress seem to have been put in place.
Although they have had a rocky few years, the Terriers have done well this season and thoroughly deserve their place in the play-off final.
If they can achieve promotion this weekend then they will hope to be on the up and able to solidify their spot in the top flight.