This squad ought to have got us promoted – Naysmith

The Scottish international defender cut a devastated figure last night after his side’s 3-0 defeat against Peterborough United in the League One play-off final.

And although the Terriers finished the season unbeaten in 27 league games, Naysmith admitted that it counted for nothing now.

“Fair play to Peterborough, they took their chances and good luck to them next season,” he said. “But the black and white truth is we should have got promoted with the squad we have.

“We have gone 27 games unbeaten and that has got us nowhere. We would have been as well winning one and losing one.

“I am not being negative, I am just being realistic,” he added. “We have not achieved what we set out to do this season and that was winning promotion.”

Only two seasons ago, Naysmith was a member of the Sheffield United squad that lost in the Championship play-off final against Burnley at Wembley.

He had played 39 league games but missed the play-offs after snapping cruciate knee ligaments in the final month.

Reflecting on the two experiences, he said: “At Sheffield United, two years ago, I think I played the majority of the 46 but I missed the semi-final and the final. That hurt but I was only watching. To be on the pitch and lose is worse.

“We have fallen at the final hurdle and, as much as the players and the management, I feel sorry for the fans. With the support we have this season, we deserved to be in the Championship.”

Over 31,000 Town supporters travelled across the Pennines to Old Trafford – the club’s first visit to the stadium for 39 years.

“The backing from the fans was fantastic,” he said. “To get nearly 35,000 is unheard of for Huddersfield.”

Looking ahead, Naysmith does not fear a break-up of the current Town squad but says some of the club’s talented youngsters deserve to be moving up the league.

“I don’t think we will break up – unless lads want to leave – because I don’t think the club is under any pressure to sell.

“We are very fortunate to have such a good owner (chairman Dean Hoyle) who is a Huddersfield man through and through.

“You feel sorry for him because of the amount of money he’s put into the club. I also feel for people like Lee Peltier and Alex Smithies because they are more than good enough to be playing in the Championship next season.

“Potentially, they are Premier League players in a couple of years so for them to have to spend another year in League One – with all respect – is a disappointment.”

For Town winger Gary Roberts, the disappointment of losing in the play-off final was even worse than defeat to Millwall last season in the semi-finals.

Roberts also acknowledged that the outcome of the game might have been different if Town had made more of the 75th minute counter attack he initiated but allowed to slip away.

“We had a chance, just before they scored, when I went though with Beni (Afobe),” he said. “If we had scored then, we might have gone on and won the game quite comfortably because we had them on the back foot and they couldn’t get out.

“It just shows, if we don’t score at the end and they go and score at that end, they get the trophy.

“Three-nil looks like a whopping but I don’t think it was,” he insisted. “ We played a big part in the game and if we had scored when we were on top it would have been a totally different game.

“We had a decent spell but the eight-minute spell (when Peterborough scored three times) was just madness.

“It’s the lowest I have been in my career,” he sighed. “At Millwall last season, it was a different feeling.

“We were hurt but (yesterday), to disappoint all these fans makes it worse.

“We knew we were in for a tough game and whoever scored the first goal was going to go on and win. They got the goal and that’s how it went.

“Even if you go no games unbeaten, losing in a play-off final is hard to take especially when you see the support we had.

“We filled every seat, the support was fantastic, they were loud and they got us going but it just wasn’t to be.

“I just hope we don’t have to go through that ever again. We thought we had done enough to go up automatically so next year, if the lads stay together, we will be having a right go. We have a lot of good players.”

Captain Peter Clarke was virtually lost for words when speaking to reporters after the game and struggling to hold onto his emotions.

“There are a lot of disappointed boys in the dressing room,” Clarke said. “It’s a horrible, empty feeling, and it is not nice. We are hurting.

“I never gave a second thought to anything but winning this game,” he admitted. “I have my own thoughts on what went wrong but I am not going to say know.

“We have to come back next season and try again and we will. Only time will tell, ultimately, if it makes us stronger.”

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