Huddersfield Town

Town went into the international break on the back of a defeat in a bizarre game against Fulham and although the midfielder would have preferred another game to put things right, he’s made the most of the fortnight:

“We probably would have preferred to keep playing and try to get a win as soon as possible after the recent run of results we’ve had to try and lift the atmosphere a bit, but it has been good to have a break. It is a long season and many of our lads have played a lot of football, so it’s been good to get some rest in the legs. Hopefully we will be refreshed and ready to go on Saturday,” Jacob told htafc.com.

One of those players who has featured prominently is Butterfield; no Town man has played more Championship minutes than the summer recruit.

He continued: “I’ve come in here and tried to do my best for the Club. Luckily the Manager has given me a key role and I’ve played every game, in which I think I’ve done alright. 

“This is the first season where I’ve played every league match, as I’ve had a few injuries and a couple of moves. It’s been a good season for me overall. 

“I enjoy it here and I’m happy playing my football. I’ve moved a lot over the last few years, which happens in football, but this is a really good club and I think we’re going in the right direction. 

“We’re not focussing on next season yet, though. We have seven games left and we need to concentrate on doing our work. We’re looking at each game as it comes and our work over the last two weeks has been towards the Sheffield Wednesday game and putting in a performance to get a long overdue win.” 

Chris Powell’s side went winless through March, but Jacob doesn’t feel that record reflected the level of performances of late:

“We had a tough week recently where we lost three games – that was a real low point of the season – but we evaluated that, addressed it and bounced back with three pretty positive performances.

“Despite that, we haven’t managed to get the win. It’s quite incredible that we only got one point from the two home games against Norwich and Fulham, but that’s football. It boils down to goals and for whatever reason, we couldn’t get one against Fulham. That’s disappointing, but hopefully we can build on the performances and turn them into points.”

Next up for the Terriers is Town’s Yorkshire derby at Hillsborough on Saturday; a ground that has happy memories for the creative midfielder.

“I scored my first Football League goal there as a teenager. I was at Barnsley, so it was a big derby on the first day of the season. It was an equaliser; a cross came into the box, I took it on my chest and fired home left footed from the edge of the box. It was a decent goal!

“I scored there last season too, but it didn’t get given! My shot hit both posts and crossed the line, but the ref didn’t give it. 

“I’ve had some interesting games there, so I’m looking forward to Saturday. I’ve heard that the pitch isn’t great there. We like to play our football and a good pitch would suit us, but we’ll do our best with the conditions. I’m experienced enough to know that you have to play the conditions and I think our young team has learned that throughout the season. 

“They are quite a physical team, but we’re prepared to go there and match them physically. We’ve been working on playing in different ways and we’re ready to do whatever it takes to get the win.

“We need a few more wins to get the points on the board. We want to get as far up the league as possible; we don’t want to be looking over our shoulder at the relegation places. 

“Some lads are playing for their futures and trying to impress the Manager going into the summer. At this stage, players want to be firmly in the Manager’s plans so everyone wants to do well individually, as well as a team.”