Players on a high after Wigan victory
Mark Robins believes his players are more than capable of matching Nottingham Forest and wants them to "have a go" when they take on the promotion chasers.
Forest hasn’t tasted defeat since late November 2013, but away from home they haven’t won since early December.
Two stalemates and three 1-1 draws have followed Forest’s victory at Sheffield Wednesday on December 7.
Billy Davies' men were four minutes away from an away victory on Saturday only for Andy Keogh to score an equaliser for Blackpool.
Mark said: “Their focus is on achieving promotion and they have spent plenty of money to try and achieve that. They have a big squad, which makes it difficult for us to understand what sort of team they will field. Having said that, I have someone in Steve Taylor who has worked with Billy Davies before and who can give us the inside track into his way of thinking.
“I have watched them a few times of late and I saw Watford cause them a lot of problems in the first half. Forest were excellent in the second half though and won the game, but it could have been a different story.
“He (Davies) has a wealth of options all over the pitch, but from our perspective it is about what we can do to them. We are looking forward to the test and want to pick three more points up. The win against Wigan was a real tonic for everyone and Tuesday night is a good opportunity to pit our wits against one of the best teams in the league.
“If we can play anywhere near our capability then we will give them a real good game.”
The last three meetings in Huddersfield have ended in 1-1 draws, whereas in Nottingham the home side have dominated, winning the last five. “The reverse fixture was a tough match, but on home soil I expect a different kind of match, especially coming off the back of a victory,” said Mark.
“Our confidence levels never dwindled and we will remain focused and have a real go at them.”
Town’s win on the weekend moved them to 13th in the Championship and was their third straight success on home soil in the league.
“The players deserve a huge amount of credit for being able to handle the conditions,” Mark said on the victory. “They displayed a lot of ability and skill in difficult circumstances.
“Both sides tried to pass the ball and had the game been played in normal conditions then I think you would have seen a really good contest.
“It was a fantastic three points," Mark added. "We want to pick points up away from home, but our results and performances on home soil have been brilliant.”
James Vaughan, Jonathan Hogg, Adam Hammill and Joel Lynch all returned to the side and Mark expects them to be available again tomorrow night: “The lads are training this morning and I haven’t heard anything regarding any problems that the players may have suffered as a result of Saturday’s match. Everybody should be available for tomorrow night.”
To finish, Mark revealed that he may use the emergency loan window to give his younger players some game time.
“We may look at getting players out, but we aren’t in desperate need to do that,” he said. “One or two of the younger ones – the likes of Duane Holmes – may need to get some game time. He has been around the squad a lot this season and we are now looking at his next progression. I am not too keen on sending him on loan because I would like to have him around the squad, but we will look at what the best option is.”
