Huddersfield Town

Town’s Manager believes the squad is in good spirits going into the game against Darren Ferguson’s side, with Tuesday night’s performance at Bolton something to be pleased with – despite the result. 

“The squad is feeling ok I believe, speaking on behalf of them. They are looking forward to the game,” Mark told htafc.com.

“On a daily basis I can see the players have decent quality, but the performance on Tuesday night gives me belief. You could see we can produce the type of performance we need and they have the belief they can do well.

“Bolton is a good side – they have some really talented players in there – but we played very well on the night; we just lacked that goal. Bolton started in lively fashion, but we grew into it and really took it to them in the end; we deserved at least a point, without a shadow of a doubt. We need to take that into the next six games and have a real go.”

With only six games to go in the npower Championship season there is plenty of speculation in the press about which three teams will be relegated, but Robins is keen for his players to focus solely on their own performances.

 “There is a human element that lets the mind wonder and think about the ‘what ifs’, but we have to focus on our individual performances, because they will bring about a better collective performance. Generally that will translate into wins and points. That’s all we can focus on; we have to let everyone else speculate on what might be. We have six games left and we can’t let ourselves be distracted at any stage.

“The technical staff is fully focussed on getting the players prepared for the games to come – that’s all we can do. We need everybody firing on all cylinders, as everyone is fighting to stay alive.

“We have got games against the teams around us in the League and we have generally tended to do well in those games. That is something to take hold of.” 

Robins has plenty of experience under his belt as a Manager, but he believes you have to take every situation on its own merits. 

“Every Club presents a different scenario and our situation is unique to Huddersfield Town. We have to plan and prepare as well as we possibly can. 

“Nobody wants to be in this situation, but it only really counts at the final whistle of the last game. We know that in a week’s time things may look totally different, so we have to focus on preparing for Saturday’s game.

“If you look at the division everybody beats everybody, so there are no surprises. You wouldn’t have predicted Peterborough would beat Cardiff last week, but nobody can predict the League at this stage of the season. There is obviously a discrepancy between the spending at the top and the bottom of the League, but it is a tough division.” 

Peterborough sit one place and one point beneath the Terriers coming into the game on Saturday and Mark knows what to expect from the Posh.

“Peterborough have done brilliantly well; Darren (Ferguson) has done great work. I think everybody had written them off earlier on in the season, but they have come back strongly. They sold George Boyd but they managed to bring in Dwight Gayle, who is a real talent. They keep turning over players and coming up with gems and they have found another one there. 

“We know what to expect. They are fighting for their lives and they have honest players with some good quality. Firstly we have to match them, and then surpass them if we can. We will fight and scrap for every blade of grass.”

After failing to convert one of the many chances created at the Reebok Stadium on Tuesday, Robins is keen for his players to stand up and be counted in front of goal. 

“We might not have scored in our last two games, but before that we’ve done pretty well. We have players in the side that can score and this is the time of the season where we have to step up to the plate and take those chances.” 

Robins is waiting on the availability of right back Jack Hunt, who was forced off on the quarter hour mark at Bolton due to a hamstring injury. 

“We have to wait and see on Jack. He had a scan on Thursday, so we should find out more on Friday. Other than that, we’re looking ok.”