SKIPPER Andy Procter hopes Accrington Stanley can repay the fans who fought to keep the club alive 18 months ago by securing a place in the play-off final with victory over Stevenage tonight.

Procter joined Stanley during their days in the UniBond Premier Division in 2002 and knows the sacrifices many supporters have made to help keep the club in business in recent times.

Fans and members of the local community rallied round to raise vital cash as part of the ‘Save Our Stanley’ campaign when the Reds desperately attempted to pay off a £308,000 tax bill in 2009.

Those fans have continued to back the club despite Accrington’s off-field problems rumbling on into this year, with the club’s Ultras well respected in League Two for their banners and vocal support, and now the Reds need to overcome a 2-0 deficit against Stevenage tonight to reach next Saturday’s play-off final at Old Trafford.

“We saw how tight knit the club was with the Save Our Stanley campaign and fortunately we’ve still got a club largely due to Ilyas Khan and the fans,” said Procter.

“The fans have been fantastic all season. The Ultras put in massive time and effort making all the flags and following us all over the country, which I know the lads do really appreciate.

“We’re not particularly massive in numbers but certainly the passion can’t be matched.

“It would be fantastic if we could get a result to repay the fans because they’ve stuck by this club over a difficult period over the last couple of years.”

With only Ian Craney under contract for next season, some players could yet be playing their final home game tonight – and possibly their last match for Stanley if the result goes against them.

But Procter has been part of notable Crown Ground wins before and believes an aggregate triumph tonight would top the lot.

He said: “People from Accrington still speak about the likes of Andy Gouck scoring against Huddersfield and I think if anyone can score a couple of goals or put in a massive performance, they’ll be spoken about in the same vein.

“If we pulled this off it would be the greatest win certainly in my time at the club.

“I think the first leg was our worst performance of the season and we could have been 4-0 down at half time, but fortunately we’ve got a second chance. The first goal is going to be massive and if we can sneak that it’s all to play for.

“It could be our last game of the season so we’ve got to put absolutely everything into it.

“We don’t just want to limp out having had such an impressive season.

“We know there’s a massive prize at the end of it, a final at Old Trafford, and not many players, like myself, will get the chance to play there again.

“We’ve just got to do ourselves justice. If it’s good enough then great, but we don’t want to have any regrets come the end of it.”

There is no away goals rule in the play-offs, with extra time and penalties if required.