Huddersfield Town

The big news emanating from the Valley this morning is that Chris Powell has left his role as Manager of the Addicks, presenting Town and Robins with a bit of an unknown on how their opposition will setup come tomorrow evening. 

However, Robins is more interested in the performance of his side after Saturday’s disappointing defeat at Doncaster Rovers. 

“Today we will make our final preparations. Unfortunately it seems that Chris (Powell) has left his post at the Valley and I wish him all the best for the future; I’m sure he’ll be back very soon,” Mark told htafc.com. 

“We know their players, although we don’t know which ones will be out there given the change this morning. In any case they will come out desperate to win the game because regardless of how many games they have in hand they will want points in the bag. 

“I’m sure it will have been a bitter pill to swallow when they went out of the FA Cup to Sheffield United on Sunday too; they had a big chance to go ahead in that game, the ball went past the post and their opposition took full advantage.  

“We don’t know who will be in charge there for our game now and what will happen, but it doesn’t change how we will prepare. We have to focus on our performance and get on with the job of picking some points up away from home. I always prefer to focus on our own performance, but never more so than tomorrow.”

Robins is hopeful that he will be able to call on some of the players who have missed out through injury recently, although he admitted he will not know for sure until after Tuesday’s training session at PPG Canalside.  

“We’ve got injured people going in the right direction. Joel Lynch has had an operation and he’s getting closer to fitness, just as Jonathan Hogg is. James Vaughan is still working on the training pitch so we’re edging closer to his return, although I don’t want to put a timescale on him as he needs training before he is available. I’ll run the rule over them this morning and make final decisions on who is travelling afterwards.” 

Robins is happy that Town’s next game follows on so soon after the weekend setback. 

“The good thing is that Wednesday’s game at Charlton comes very quickly after Saturday’s match, which allows us to get back on the pitch and right a few wrongs.  

“If tomorrow’s game is a scrap, that’s great as it will show me who is capable of that side of the game. I thought Doncaster scrapped better than us on Saturday and we have to be ready for that. Their playing surface has been notoriously difficult this season and that’s another challenge for us to overcome. 

“Consistency is important. The challenge for us right now is to put a decent performance in to get a win away from home and I may have to go about things slightly differently to do so. We have to try and find a formula away from home that works better. 

“At home our performances and results have generally been good, but we need to pick up some points away from home to enhance our League standing. Teams across the division are desperate to get away from relegation or into the Play-Offs and we have to be desperate to improve on where we are and to get higher in the table. That’s the challenge and the players have to be up for it. I’m sure the players will be ready for the challenge tomorrow; we’re all looking forward to the game. 

“We also want to put on a performance for our supporters that travel to London on Wednesday. I felt for the 2,800 at Doncaster on Saturday because we let them down, so we have to try and put that right. As I’ve said in the past, the players didn’t go out on Saturday looking to play poorly or concede poor goals; that’s just a consequence of having one or two players out and youngsters in there. Those youngsters have to learn those lessons quickly, though. 

“I want to see the players show endeavour and desire to carry out what we ask of them. The players certainly haven’t ‘downed tools’ – they’re giving me everything they’ve got in every single game. 

“We need to be better and we will improve, there’s no two ways about it. As is always the case, the players are playing for their futures.”