James Hanson is ready to exorcise the Wembley demons when City step back on the most famous pitch in England.

A return to the national stadium for the second time in the space of three months is beyond the wildest dreams of many.

Hanson, the local lad made good, knows more than anyone in the City dressing room how much it will mean to the thousands who will again follow them south.

And this time, he wants to make sure their team do the occasion justice. That they live up to the hype of playing on the grand stage.

Reaching the Capital One Cup final will forever live in the memory but there is also the nagging disappointment that City did not really turn up on the day.

Swansea swept them away without trace – and the 5-0 final score is one that Hanson is desperate to settle.

So the opportunity to right that wrong against Northampton on May 18 must not be wasted.

Hanson said: “I think we owe it to the fans. They all paid a lot of money last time and we didn’t really give them a lot to cheer about.

“It was unbelievable for us to play in an atmosphere like that but at the same time it wasn’t as enjoyable as it should have been because we didn’t get much of the ball.

“Hopefully this time we can have a good go and go full throttle at winning promotion.

“It would be nice to go back to Wembley now and hopefully get a couple of goals and have a celebration like the Burton one at the end of the game.

“It’s been a long ten months but we’ll give it our all for one big push. This is what we’ve been working for from the moment we were running down the track in pre-season.

“Promotion is what it’s all about and it’s just one game now.”

City have turned overcoming the odds into an art form during this record-breaking campaign. Whenever this team get written off, they come bouncing back for more.

So maybe nobody should be too surprised that they overturned a first-leg deficit to beat Burton in the semi-finals – achieving it by winning comfortably at a ground that has become the biggest fortress in the entire Football League.

Hanson was certainly confident that it would all come right in the end.

“I had faith in the lads from the start,” he said. “I really thought we could go there and cause problems.

“We didn’t really do ourselves justice in the first leg and play how we did in the cup games but we showed the fans on Sunday how well we can do. If we can repeat that now in the final, then hopefully it will be enough.”

Hanson’s rocket second – with his supposedly weaker right foot – was the pick of City’s goals and a nice way to bring up 50 for his career. He could and should have had a 51st before the end but scooped a great chance over the bar.

But Hanson and two-goal Nahki Wells were the difference – and credit should also be given to Phil Parkinson’s pre-match tactical tinkering.

Burton had throttled City’s attack at Valley Parade by sitting centre half Zander Diamond just in front of the back four. It meant Hanson was occupied for much of the night tracking back to mark him; a deep-lying midfielder rather than a centre forward.

Parkinson correctly predicted that opposite number Gary Rowett would employ the same tactics in the return leg.

So he countered that by telling Hanson to stay further forward. Give Diamond time on the ball and let him worry about you lurking deeper behind him instead.

It made a massive difference. Diamond was effectively nullified all afternoon not knowing whether to stick or twist and City had the room to run rampant.

Hanson added: “Once the gaffer told me to stay up the pitch, Diamond was playing in front of me.

“It gave him a different problem because Nahki and I were getting more joy in behind (the defence). I thought it worked a treat.

“It’s an unbelievable feeling to be going back to Wembley. And this time we’re going there to win.”