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Here are some of the edited highlights from the press conference — you can find the full audio above or in the We Are Terriers podcast feed, including Archie Collins’ contribution Martin Drury Did everybody come through the Plymouth game unscathed? Are you looking at the same squad availability for tomorrow night? Yeah, everyone’s available from the weekend — everyone came through the game. We just have to be mindful that some players have not played as many minutes in recent times, and with some players we also have to be careful with their history of playing Saturday-Tuesday, Saturday-Tuesday. So we’ve got a few that we need to take care of, a few that we need to look at tomorrow before we make a call on what the squad will look like. But in terms of coming through the game on Saturday, everyone’s OK. And Ryan Ledson and David Kasumu, I think you said last time, were closing in on a possible return. Is tomorrow night too soon? They’re close. They’re really close. Again, we’ll make a call on that tomorrow. They’re in full training now, so we’ll look at the squad first thing tomorrow morning, having had all the feedback from how everyone’s come through today from a performance and medical perspective, but they’re definitely close. You’ve had a couple of days to reflect on the win down at Plymouth. On reflection, what pleased you most about that performance? I felt our mentality was really good throughout the game. We know the challenge that you have when you go down to Plymouth, having been there previously, and the way that they play and the way that they try to impose themselves on you, so we knew it was going to be a really difficult game. We felt technically and tactically we were able to impose ourselves on Plymouth, but that wouldn’t have been possible if our mentality wasn’t in the right place and we didn’t compete with the way they make the game, in terms of physicality and first and second balls, those types of things. The dirty parts of the game, I felt we were really good at, then when we had our opportunities to show our quality in different moments, we attacked in a variety of ways. I felt we looked really, really threatening when we went forwards. So there was an awful lot to like. On Saturday, you said you’d spend the coach journey home with your staff looking at Peterborough and use those hours to prepare for the game. But with the players, when they’re getting back at midnight on a Saturday, presumably they had a recovery day yesterday, you can’t do much with them on the training ground…so is it more about getting messages into them in the video room? How does it work when you’ve got this kind of quick turnaround after such a long away trip? The travel certainly plays a part in that, and it slightly disrupts what you can do on the pitch naturally from a physical point of view, particularly with Plymouth being so far away. The players were off yesterday, which is not normal when we have a Tuesday game – we’d normally be in on a Sunday. But I just felt the nature of the game and how much they put into the game, and then the travel, as you rightly say, I felt they were deserving of it and the right call for them physically was to be off yesterday. So they had a rest, they had a breather. The staff were in yesterday. We worked yesterday to make sure today was prepared fully for them. They came in today and we’ve not managed to do loads on the grass, as you say, because of the quick turnaround from Saturday to Tuesday and how much physically they put into the game on Saturday. So we do exactly what we can do inside from an analysis point of view, and we’ll spend tomorrow before the game as well giving some more messages. Hopefully the players will feel really comfortable and confident going into the game with what we’ve provided for them. Something that came up on our podcast... we were talking about the number of substitutions you’ve used, and it is lower than the average for the division. Most managers are using four to five, and I think in a lot of games you’ve used two to three. What’s your outlook on that? Is it just a game-by-game thing? Do you see a benefit to using fewer subs? What’s the thinking there? Probably not that deep, if I’m going to be totally honest. Just in the game that we’re playing, I look at who’s performing well, who’s not, where do I think we need changes? We anticipate things that might happen in the game. We anticipate the subs that the opponents might be making and the shape changes that they might be making based on the scenario of the game. So we have a big meeting before every game about that, about what might happen in the game based on what’s been happening in their previous games. We’re fully prepared for what might happen in the game in terms of scenarios and the opponent. Then, of course, we’re always conscientious in terms of where our players are at physically. We have an understanding of exactly what minutes we feel they’re capable of playing in each game. More often than not, we’re quite good at that, and the performance team are really good at that, guiding us as coaches. I think if you look at tomorrow night’s game, then it’d be naive not to think that more substitutions might be needed due to the nature of Saturday to Tuesday, depending on what the starting team is. But I don’t look at it as: we should make two, we should make three, we should make five. I just face the game, and as a coaching staff we face the game that’s in front of us. Of course, we’re prepared prior to the game, but within the game there are also things that you have to look at. Do you think there can sometimes be too much emphasis on wanting to spare players minutes or manage them too carefully? Yes and no. I’m probably a little bit old-school in the sense that I think we have some really skilled people now in football and in sports science and everything. But I remember growing up, it was the magic sponge. Someone came over with a magic sponge and you bounced back up, or put a bit of DP on and you were all right. Suddenly that’s changed and we’re really conscientious. I get it because the game’s changing, the game’s got quicker and it’s certainly more physical than when I was younger playing, so I have to respect the professionals that we have with us who are really skilled. But at the same time, I do probably challenge them a little bit every now and again in terms of what I think people are capable of. If you train in a way that you acclimatise players to that high load and to physical outputs that are right at the top of their peak, then hopefully that’s transferable into games. I’d like to think you’ve seen that in some games this season, the way that we play and the way that we want to play. We haven’t had too many soft-tissue injuries this season. Some of the injuries we have had, have been a little bit innocuous. So I think we’re in a relatively good place in terms of that. But yeah, I’m probably a little bit old-school in the mindset of: get up and carry on. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.weareterriers.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.weareterriers.com Ten games into the League One season, Huddersfield Town are in the mix at the top of the table. And after a statement win away to the previously table-topping Plymouth, this week’s We Are Terriers podcast can’t help but re-visit our hopes and expectations for the side this season. What made Town so good against Plymouth? How did they stand firm in a way t…

Here are some of the edited highlights from the press conference — you can find the full audio above or in the We Are Terriers podcast feed, including Sean Roughan’s contribution Martin Drury We have to start with the end of the Sheffield Wednesday game and the penalty situation. A couple of days on, have you been offered any further clarity as to how that all unfolded? No. No further clarity, no. You didn’t have the opportunity to speak to the match officials? They’ve not given you any understanding as to how that all panned out? No, nothing. Does that frustrate you? You have to deal with it, it’s part and parcel of football. I’m sure the shoe will be on the other foot at some point in the future. You just have to get with it and deal with it, control what we can control, look at the things that we did really well in the game and look at the things that we want to do better in the game. But in terms of decisions, you can ask for explanations, you can write letters, you can get replies. It doesn’t change anything. You don’t get extra points for it. So no, just leave it alone and move on. We’re talking on Tuesday afternoon, so admittedly there are a good few days before you head down to Plymouth. In terms of the team, we saw Radinio Balker go off and Murray Wallace go off. Are you in any position to say whether they’ll be available for the weekend? Yeah, neither will be available. Murray will be out for about eight weeks, Radinio Balker will be two to three weeks. So yeah, we’re in a bit of a situation with injuries at the minute. We’ve got seven players out now. What that does is provide opportunities for the players to come in, but of course, you go to Plymouth, who are statistically one of the most direct teams in the league, and you lose two of your best aerial defenders. It’s obviously frustrating, but at the same time we’ve got other players that can do that. It’s disappointing that we lose more players. Murray’s is his knee…when he blocks a shot, he opens up the ligament in his knee. Radinio just had a little bit of tightness in his hamstring. So yeah, frustrating, disappointing, but at the same time we move on and find solutions. And just to clarify as well, there was some conversation about Sanches Fernandes maybe having hurt his knee. Is there anything in that? He’s got an ongoing issue with his knee that he’s had for a while that flares up. It’s nothing too concerning, but we are led a little bit by him himself. So in the game on Saturday, he signalled to us that he needed to come off, which is a shame because up until that point he’d been exceptional yet again — but I’m sure he’ll be fine for the weekend. As you say, that’s such a blow to lose two of your key defenders at the same time. I guess that’s where your squad comes to fruition, isn’t it? You have to turn to the next man on the rank, if you like. Yeah, absolutely. We obviously lost Jack Whatmough for 10 weeks, then Murray for six to eight weeks, and Radinio for three weeks, so it’s difficult. I think any squad in this league, if you lose three players in one position in a short space of time, you’re going to find that a real big challenge. But as you rightly say, we build a squad to ensure that if things like this happen, then we’ve got other players, good players, who can come in. But of course, we’re probably in that position where we have to be very careful now because any more and we’ll be in a really difficult situation. We embrace the challenge, we find solutions and we look forward to the game. Does that make you consider maybe a slight formation tweak to compensate for that? I think you have to consider everything, don’t you? The best part of being in this role is you get these challenges where you have to find the solutions. Whether that’s personnel, whether that’s shape changes, whether that’s approaches in different games, that’s the nature of the role. So that’s for us as a staff and us as a group of players to work out solutions to any problems that we face. That’s always our approach, and that’ll be no different at the weekend. Any news on Ryan Ledson and David Kasumu? No different to what I said five or six days ago, they’re in the same position: they’re training, they’re on the grass, and they should be, if everything runs smoothly, available potentially a week on Saturday. It does leave you a bit short at centre-back. I think you’re down to three. Does that mean you might have to look at the academy and call some players up, even if it’s just for the bench? I’ve not decided on that yet. We’ll have a look at how this week looks and we’ll decide closer to the travel day. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.weareterriers.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.weareterriers.com Huddersfield Town’s 2-2 draw with Sheffield Wednesday was certainly eventful, to say the least. Martin Drury’s side looked to be set for victory after going two goals up, but ended up sharing the spoils after Ibane Bowat’s own goal and a controversial late penalty. That gives this week’s We Are Terriers plenty to go at as we try to dissect what Town got s…

Martin Drury Just a quick word on the last two games. Is that the perfect platform going forward? It’s certainly a much more positive reaction than to the game we had previous to that down at Bromley, when we didn’t get the result that we wanted. We had that two-week window, the international break, where the players worked incredibly hard. We didn’t have too many days off. So yeah, I was really pleased for all the players that we managed to deliver a performance last Saturday that was in keeping with our identity, how we want to play, how we want to look and feel. Then it moved into Tuesday, where a lot of players were able to get minutes, and again we looked like us against Rochdale. So yeah, the two games have been really pleasing, and definitely a nice way to react from the disappointment in the previous game. Going into the season, those of us in the media will look at your game with Sheffield Wednesday tomorrow and say that’s an early test between two promotion favourites. How are you viewing it? It’s a really important game for both clubs, of course, because we’re both ambitious, we’re both local to each other, and we’ve both probably, as clubs, had some testing periods over the last few years. So I think it’s quite a fitting encounter. It’s one that we’re really looking forward to and excited about. We’re under no illusions how difficult the game will be, having watched their games, knowing their squad and what they’ve done over the summer. I can completely understand why they’d be deemed as favourites for the league in the summer by many people.But like you rightly say, it’s a challenge that we’re looking forward to. We want to test ourselves against another team that we’d like to place ourselves amongst in terms of being ambitious and where we want to be at the end of the season. It’s come at a time that I feel we’re ready for, and all the players look very ready for. We’re very excited about tomorrow. Would it be a statement if you were to get the win tomorrow? No, I wouldn’t say it’s that. I don’t see winning a game of football in October as any statement, if I’m honest. I think the statement will be at the end of the season, when we finish where we want to finish or not. It’s a game that we’re looking forward to. We know it’ll be tough. Hopefully the place will be rocking tomorrow — I’m aware there are a lot of tickets being sold by both clubs, so hence why we’re so excited for it. We hope the atmosphere is right. We hope the atmosphere is really, really good, and we hope people come and enjoy it. We want to provide a performance that our fans can resonate with and be really proud of. We touched on it after Tuesday, your reaction to Alan leaving the club. You said you would explore options if you felt that was necessary. Appreciate it’s only three days on, but have you had any more thought on that? It’s been difficult to think about, to be honest, just with the preparation for the next game coming so quickly and the debrief from the last game. So we’ve not had loads of time on it. I think we’ll pick that one up after this weekend and we’ll look at that in a bit more detail. I’ve had brief conversations about it, but certainly not gone into it in any detail yet, so there’s no clarity on what we’ll do next and how we move forward with that. But as I said after the game the other night, I feel really confident with the group of staff that we’ve got. Dale’s got bags and bags of experience at this level, and Steady, as we know, as a player and a coach, has got experience. There are other people in the building with experience of this club and further afield, so I feel like we’ve got a really good group of staff. But of course, when somebody leaves, it gives you an opportunity to identify if there’s anybody else that you’d like to bring in, and what qualities and capabilities they might have to add to the group of staff. Everything will be done with the thought of the players first. Anyone that comes to the club, it won’t just be about how they integrate with staff. It’ll be: do I feel they’re worthy of coaching this group of players? Because it’s a privilege to coach this group of players. So anyone that comes in, we’ll make sure that they add to what we’ve got and they’ll be there to help the players. Joe Taylor played the first half on Tuesday, so good minutes for him, but you’ve got a decision to make everywhere – and at centre-forward in particular. It’s a tough one this weekend, isn’t it? It’s a good problem to have, right? Joe started the season really well, scoring goals. The work rate that he was showing in the early games in particular was exceptional, and I think that’s why he was getting his rewards with his goals. Ashley Fletcher, as we know, last season scored 20 goals, brilliant this season. He’s taken a little bit of time to get his goals, but some of his performances have been really, really strong and he’s scored two in two. So of course it’s a decision to make. There’s Bojan alongside that as well, so we’ve got three really good strikers, and then Samson’s obviously pushing as well. He came on on Tuesday and showed some of his qualities, and we’re working with him to keep getting him up to speed. Of course, it’s good problems to have. Later on in the season, as we know, we won’t have all four available. We’ll be down to one or two because that’s the nature of football. We’ll thank the medical staff and thank the performance staff that we’ve got. Bojan Radulovic Is it fair to say you enjoy playing with both Ashley and Joe — and it seems like you and Joe in particular enjoy playing with each other. It depends on the team we face and what the game is demanding in that moment. I like playing with any of them. I think all of us are great players and we can do whatever the game needs. I think that’s also an important thing we need to have in the team. The team scored plenty of goals last season as well, certainly in the first half of the season, but with the likes of Derens [Sanches Fernandes] coming in, you finding form and Joe coming back, does it feel like there’s more threat this season? Probably more threat and more depth in the squad, so we can use different profiles and different players for different games, or when we need different attributes to put into the game. That’s probably what we were missing last year – maybe that creativity in the final part, with Derens. So I think it’s an addition that we’re really, really enjoying as a team and as a group, and that is really helping us. Are you particularly pleased that you’ve been able to keep things going and stay in the side despite missing so much of the summer? You didn’t play in any of the friendlies, then had another setback at the start of the season, but you’re still in contention, starting games and playing well. What’s the secret, because a lot of players can struggle with that kind of thing? Yeah, it’s not easy. As I said, it depends how you handle it, how strong you can stay mentally and just take it as a normal part of football. It happens as a player that you get injured. The timing probably wasn’t perfect, but if you have to choose – obviously you would choose never to get injured – probably you’d choose the beginning, where you still have the whole season in front of you to play and have the minutes you need and want. In the beginning it was a little bit frustrating, but I think the management of my minutes and how they’ve handled it has been perfect. There are no easy games, but when you look at the fixtures coming up – Sheffield Wednesday, Plymouth, Bradford, Luton – there are some big games there for your season as a whole, aren’t there? Yeah, they are big, big games for us as a team, and they’ll probably help define our future in the season. If you win those games, you’re going to be up at the top and you probably lay down a marker that we are here. So they’re going to be huge games for us, very important ones. But I think we always have to be humble and treat every game as an important one, with humility. If we do what we’ve been doing since the start of the season, I think we’re going to be in a good position. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.weareterriers.com/subscribe

Here are some of the edited highlights from the press conference — you can find the full audio above or in the We Are Terriers podcast feed. Martin Drury It’s an opportunity to give some players who maybe haven’t had that many minutes a go, but is it also a chance to start reintegrating players you might have back and available? Are you in that situation with some of the injured players yet? Yeah, definitely. Sean [Roughan]’s obviously just coming back. He’s fresh coming back, so Sean’s ready for some minutes. Samson [Tovide]’s ready for some minutes. We’ve got players coming back from injury. A couple more we’re still waiting on who are not quite ready, but the ones that are ready will definitely get some minutes tomorrow night. So it’s a chance for players that, again, are not playing the amount of minutes that they’d like to play. I feel guilty that I’m not able to provide that for them at this moment in time because I know how hard they’re working in training. They’ve been outstanding in terms of their mentality and how they’ve gone about every day, so it’ll be great for them to get some minutes. But again, it’s not just a game to get minutes for players. It’s a game for us to go and win, to compete and to continue developing the way we want to play, respecting the opposition. We were just talking to Lynden, and he was saying he wants to lay down a marker. There are a few players in your squad in that position, aren’t there? Are these games quite important for those players to put themselves in your thoughts? If they perform well against Rochdale, against Liverpool, does that potentially bump them up the list for you? Of course. It’s an opportunity for people that have not been playing minutes to go and try and impress — but they wouldn’t be surprising me by impressing because I know how much they’re doing in training every single day. So my expectation is that they would produce a performance tomorrow that is in keeping with what we’ve done so far this season. I know the qualities and the attributes of the players that we have. Lynden is a great example. The fact that Lynden sat here saying that he wants to go and lay a marker down and wants to go and impress says more about Lynden than anything else. I know what Lynden’s capable of, as I do many of the other players that aren’t getting the minutes that they would like. I know how good a footballer he is and how good footballers they are. So they don’t need to prove anything to me, for sure. But yeah, I do quite like that Lynden’s here and he said he wants to do that. That’s testament to him. Hopefully the other players in the group feel that same way tomorrow night. Does that go for the goalkeepers as well? There have been a few people looking at Matty Young over the past few games and thinking: could he have kept this goal out, that goal out? Is there an error there? Are the other goalkeepers pushing Matty as well? Of course, yeah. I think every player in the building has to feel like they have an opportunity. If they perform, if they’re conducting themselves every day in training, if they’re contributing to the culture and impressing with what they’re doing, then everyone has to feel – and they absolutely do have – an opportunity to force their way into the team. They’re the problems that I want to have. What we have had is really good performances from the whole squad in the majority of games this season, so it’s been difficult for us to change players, but we’ve tweaked it in small, subtle ways against certain teams for the game plan of that game. Sometimes players aren’t playing through no fault of their own, and I feel bad that I can’t do anything about that at this moment in time — but look, they’re all heading in the right direction. I have absolutely no doubt that as the season progresses, as we start to progress through to the winter and different types of games and different things happen within a squad, people are going to get opportunities. The only way to be ready for that opportunity, whether you’re a goalkeeper or an outfield player, is to make sure that you’re giving everything every single day in training. That’s what I’m seeing right now. Hopefully tomorrow night, again, is an opportunity for people to go and stake a claim. While I’ve got you on Matty, what’s your take on it? Are people being a bit harsh? Is there merit in some of the criticism? Is he disappointed with some of the goals he’s conceded? Where is he, and where are you on him? I know how ambitious Matty is and how conscientious he is about his own performances and how seriously he takes his own career and his development. So of course there have been moments within games that I’m sure Matty will have wanted to be better in, and there have also been moments in games where Matty’s been outstanding for us. He’s 19. He’s on his second senior loan. I’ve been really impressed with so many things that he’s done. He’s given us things that last season we didn’t quite have in certain moments that don’t always get noticed. Sometimes they go under the radar. So we’re really pleased with where Matty’s at — nut of course, like any player, there are outfield players from Saturday who will want to be better in front of goal. There are players who want to be better receiving under pressure in the middle of the pitch. There are goalkeepers who want to be better in certain moments. So look, from where we’re at, Matty’s developing nicely. But of course, the standards that we expect and the standards that we set are very much in line with Matty’s. So I know that he’ll want to keep improving and keep developing, and I’ve no doubt that he will. Lynden Gooch This season has obviously been frustrating for you personally. How have you found dealing with not playing as much as you’re used to? Yeah, personally, I think you could say that. Throughout my career, it’s the first time I’ve not been playing most weeks, so it’s a new challenge. But look, I’m not one to roll over and just accept defeat. I’ll work as hard as I can every single day. It’s testing, of course it is, mentally more than anything. I’ve been in tough situations before in my career — challenging seasons, bad results, losing big games, big finals and stuff like that — but I’ve not really had this situation before in terms of the amount of minutes I’ve played. I can’t just roll over and accept defeat, kick and scream and want to be out of the football club. I’ve seen plenty of players do that. I’m happy here and I’m happy to fight for my place. Every player we’ve spoken to has talked about how intense it is under Martin. What has your experience been of working under him? Yeah, the same. Very intense. Brilliant coach tactically. The intensity is high. Even though I’ve not played as much as I want, I say the same thing to everyone: I think he’s a really good coach. I think that’s showing at the minute. And I think we’ve got a talented squad. Every single player wants to play, and I think you’ve got a problem if you’ve got players who are happy being here and not playing. That’s what the driver is for us. I think that’s why you’re seeing the results on the pitch, because you’ve got 25 players going at it every day in training trying to get in the team. So if someone doesn’t do their job, doesn’t pull their weight, then someone’s ready. I think that’s what you’re seeing at the minute. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.weareterriers.com/subscribe

Here are some of the edited highlights from the press conference — you can find the full audio above or in the We Are Terriers podcast feed. Martin Drury Can we catch up on the injury news first? Ryan Ledson, obviously Bojan Radulovic, Sean Roughan as well. Where are we at with the squad? Ryan’s progressing well. He’s on track. He’s still a few weeks away, but he’s back on the grass, he’s running, and he’s just managing that pain that he’s got from the injury initially. But he’s in a good place. He’s progressing at the speed we’d expect him to, so he’s on track. Sean’s available for the weekend. Sean’s been training really well, looks really good, looks strong. Pleased with his attitude. We’ve almost had to pull him back a little bit and hold the reins on him because he’s itching to get going again. Bojan is fit and available. He had a back spasm, recovered from that, so he’s available. David Kasumu is progressing really well. Probably a couple of weeks away, on the grass running. He’s getting stronger every day and working incredibly hard, so he’s not too far away. Then we’ve got a couple that we’re sort of nursing a little bit. Derens should be OKfor the weekend, but it’s an ongoing little niggle in his knee. He’s had it for about three weeks now, so we’re trying to protect that a little bit. Fingers crossed he’ll be okay for the weekend. Jack Whatmough’s injured again. He’s suffered an injury in his calf, which is frustrating for Jack, frustrating for us. We trained on Saturday morning and he felt his calf in the warm-up for training and dropped out. We’ve not got an exact diagnosis of that yet, but with calf injuries – and Jack’s had some calf injuries in the past – they’re never a quick thing. So it’s really frustrating for Jack. I feel for Jack because I know how hard he’s working and how much he wants to be back a part of it. Unfortunately he’s broken down again, so we’ll have to look after him, and I think he’ll be out for the upcoming games. You mentioned Radinio. Are there any doubts about him going into your side this weekend after a very long trip back, or is he in contention? No, no, fully in contention. Obviously we do know about jet lag, so we’ll assess him as soon as he’s back in the building. We’ll see him tomorrow, we’ll see him Friday. My expectation right now is that he’ll be fit and available for Saturday, which I’m over the moon about because he’s been outstanding. But yeah, as soon as we see him, we’ll have a clearer picture on that. And obviously with Joe Taylor away with Wales, I assume that’s going to be the case come this weekend as well. Have you basically got enough to go into this game? Yeah, we’ve got enough. Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. We’ve got enough first-team players, we’ve got enough B-team players, so we’ve absolutely got enough players in the building with talent, players that want to work and players that want to play — so we’ve definitely got enough. But obviously it’s frustrating when you have an international break and you want to try and get people back. Everyone’s progressing on track as they were, but it’s frustrating when you lose one. Samson Tovide, we’ve no injury concerns. We’ve been trying to push to get Samson up to speed and then he suffered with tonsillitis. We didn’t see him for quite a few days, he was at home, so he’s been unwell and the docs have been treating him. Again, you see the international break as a good opportunity to get him up to speed, then you get punched in the gut a little bit because he picks up an illness. We’ve had a couple of other illnesses as well, over different days. So look, nothing to complain about. That’s what happens. You deal with it, and we’ll be fully prepped for the weekend. So how does that leave you up front coming into the game? Because it probably does limit you a little bit, doesn’t it? Well, if you’d have said to me at the back end of last season, “You’ve got Bojan and Fletch available for a game,” I’d have snapped your hand off. So I definitely won’t look at those two and go, “We’re short up front.” Absolutely not. Samson’s pushing to be involved at the weekend, but he’s just not fitness-ready. He will be pushing to be involved, then we’ve got a number of other players that can play at the top end of the pitch. So it’s not something we’re concerned about. It’s the nature of football. It’s amazing for Joe that he’s been selected to go with his country. That’s testament to all the work that he’s been doing, testament to the goals that he’s been scoring. Credit to the staff that have supported him since his comeback, but definitely credit to Joe himself. I think if you’d have told Joe 12 months ago that he’d be in and around the Wales squad, then I think he’d have been over the moon. So that’s a brilliant, brilliant representation of how he’s gone about his business in the summer and how he’s started the season. Of course, that means we miss him in a game, which is frustrating. But look, it’s brilliant for him. Then Radinio Balker is slightly different, in the sense that Radinio came to see me before he went to the international break and said: “Look, we have four games. I don’t want to play all four, and I don’t want to miss a game for us, so I’m going to speak to them and see if I can play two games and come back. I don’t want to miss Burton Albion away.” Would Radinio have said that 12 months ago? I don’t know. But it’s music to my ears when he’s coming knocking on the door saying: “Look, I don’t want to miss a game. I want to come back and play.” So that’s credit to him and tells you where his mentality is. I think his performances have been very, very high, and hopefully he continues in that way and keeps playing really well. Does that reflect well on the culture that you’ve set here as well? I’d like to think so, but it’s more about him. It’s about where he’s at, and I think you can see in his performances, the way he’s playing, the way he’s training, the way he’s carrying himself. We’ve had some challenging conversations, but he’s such an intelligent guy. He loves his football, he wants to win and he wants to compete. The fact that he’s got the chance to go and play in four international games, but he’d prefer to play in two and then come back and play at Burton Albion away on the Saturday, is testament to where his mentality is right now. So full credit to him, and we hope he returns in good condition tomorrow and we’ll have him for the weekend. Where are we at with Cam Ashia at the moment? Cam’s obviously been here for a period of time. Cam’s a player that I really, really rate in terms of his potential. I think he could become a very, very good player. I think he’s got a lot of capabilities that can be worked with. I think he’s got an edge about him as a player that I don’t think you can coach. I like that about him. He’s got an edge, he’s got personality and character. There have been times when I would have liked him to channel that in a better way, and I would have liked him to understand that contributing to a squad and a culture takes, at times, a little bit of selflessness and humility. But Cam’s on a journey. He’s on a journey with that. We’re on a journey with him as staff. We’ve got massive belief in Cam. He’s had a difficult period being out injured and then coming back and not quite being right, so he’s had a tough few months. But Cam understands exactly what is expected of him for him to come into our thinking, to be a first-team player and to be playing games for us. It’s an ongoing thing for us to work with him. I have to say, he’s joined in sessions with the first team and he’s been brilliant. Really, really good. Looks strong. I know he played yesterday with the U21s team. I watched that game last night and he had some good moments, and there are some moments that we need to help him improve if he wants to come and play games and start games for us. So Cam’s very aware of where he’s at, and we’ll continue to work as hard as we can to make sure we maximise his potential. As I said before, we rate him so highly in terms of what he could be, but we have to get to work to create that. Murray Wallace Where’s the focus been for you? What have you been concentrating on? We’ve just been looking forward to the next game, really. It’s one of those where you look at the international break and some people might think [we’d be like] “brilliant, bit of time off” — but where we’re at, we kind of hoped to keep playing throughout the break and keep the momentum going that we had. Obviously the result previous to the break wasn’t ideal, and you don’t want to have a long break after a bad result. You just want to crack on to the next game. Have you had some time off, though? How did you spend it? Yeah. Obviously after our trip down to London and a bit of a busy schedule, we got a couple of days with family and stuff, which was nice — but now we’ve pretty much just been in as normal, training and, like I said, looking forward to the next game. How would you say you’ve reacted to the defeat at Bromley? Just obviously coming back to that frustration with the result, really. In terms of the chances we created, the chances they had, and for the scoreline to be 2-1, it was disappointing. We felt that we should have scored more and we were disappointed with the goals we conceded. Like I said, you get a bad result, the next thing you want to do is go out and play the next game and get a good result. That’s obviously where we’re at and what we want to do, so we’re looking forward to this game. It was a defeat, but defensively you look at it and you’ve got two clean sheets this season and a good record. I think it

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.weareterriers.com With no game this weekend, we have a Q&A special for you in this week’s episode of the podcast…and we’ve even stuck it out a day early for you. Thank you as ever to everyone who sent in questions - and if yours didn’t get answered, don’t worry, we’ll be mopping up the rest in a written section of the Q&A in the next day or two. If you’re already subscribe…

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.weareterriers.com The We Are Terriers podcast pulls apart just how a side that were unbeaten going into Saturday afternoon’s kick-off ended up losing to newly-promoted Bromley. How much of it lies at Martin Drury’s feet? Where do the players instead need to take responsibility? And is this an irritating blip or the continuation of a growing trend in Huddersfield Town’s s…

Here are some of the edited highlights from the press conference — you can find the full audio above or in the We Are Terriers podcast feed. Martin Drury First, expectations from Bromley. Everybody will be thinking, “Come on, three points, Town, smash them. They’ve had seven put past them, they’ve had five put past them.” How do you manage that expectation? I’ve not really thought about the expectation of the game, to be honest. I’ve just looked at what we did well last week, what things we didn’t do so well, what we can get better at, continue building the game model that we have, continue building the culture that we have, and embrace the next challenge. Bromley is the next challenge on the list. So every challenge we’ve had so far, I just spoke to the players this morning, I feel like every time either I’ve challenged them or we’ve had a challenge, they’ve stepped up to it and raised their game to it. So we’re in a really good place, and we’re very much looking forward to the game on Saturday. With Bromley obviously struggling, new to the league and what have you, do you have to speak to the players a little bit about being wary? I’m not saying being complacent, but being wary that there could be a surprise there. Bromley are finding their feet, etc. No, I don’t feel that I need to mention complacency because we’re not focused solely on the opponent. We’re focused on what we’re doing and what we’re trying to do and what we’re trying to build. Of course, we have to be mindful of Bromley because they do have some threats and they still have plenty of things that can hurt us if we’re not absolutely on the money on Saturday. So definitely wouldn’t disrespect them in any way and feel like the game is any easier than any other game. I watched the game last week that they played against Blackpool. They were very good. Blackpool found it very tough, and they’re in fine form, Blackpool, so it was a good result away at Blackpool. They showed that they’re really competitive. You look at the way that they score goals and have scored goals last season and this season, and they’re very consistent in terms of set plays, transitions, crosses into the box – all things that in League One you’re going to have to look good at. So Bromley do that really, really well, and we’re under no illusions. It’ll still be a challenge away from home, but of course we go into the game with confidence and we’d like to think that we can go and impose ourselves on them and create a tough afternoon for them as well. What about the squad situation, Martin? No, we lose Ryan now for probably about four to six weeks. So he has an issue with the ligaments in his elbow. Positive that he doesn’t need surgery. That was a real positive. He has a tear in his tricep as well, so he’s got a couple of issues from quite a heavy fall in the game, which is disappointing for both him and us as a group because he’s been a real leader for us and his performances have been really good. So disappointed to lose Ryan. He’ll be frustrated. He is frustrated. But look, it presents an opportunity for other people to step up. We’ll look after Ryan and make sure he comes back physically and mentally in a good place, and we look forward to his return. But until then, people have got an opportunity now to step up and play games that they’ve been planning to do, so I look forward to that. Where are you at with Kasumu and Whatmough at the moment? So Jack Whatmough’s trained Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday this week, so he’ll be available for selection to an extent. Sean Roughan’s the same, trained Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday this week. Again, available for selection to an extent this weekend. Samson Tovide, the same. Trained Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday this week, available this weekend. Kasumu is not quite there yet, so we’re still nursing that injury with him. He won’t be available this week, but the other three are in contention for some minutes. Let’s ask about Joe Taylor. Obviously, he’s had a really good start to the season, but as we understand it, there were a few signs of him getting frustrated with himself last time out. How do you manage that, Martin, with him? Does he need an arm around him? What do you do to try and get the best out of him? Because you clearly have for a large part of the season already. Do you know, with Joe, I think even when Joe’s scoring and firing, he still gets frustrated at things because that’s his character and that’s who he is. For me to try and take that out of him, it’s going to take a long period of time, and I’d rather not focus on trying to take that out of him. I’d rather focus on him scoring goals and making sure that he’s still doing all the brilliant things that he’s doing. I have no issue with players being frustrated in certain moments as long as they’re doing the work, as long as they’re still running. So if they’re looking on but they’re sprinting after the ball when they lose it, or if they miss a chance but they’re making the next movement in behind and they’re going to try and score again, no problem. Some of the best players in the world do that. But of course, you have to be mindful of it, that if you’re doing it that much it can impact the performance. Joe’s aware of that. Joe knows my feelings on that. But yeah, we work together on that. He’s still doing all the good things that we want him to be doing, and he’s still a constant threat and a nuisance for any team that we’re playing. So as long as he’s doing that, then we can bypass a couple of details. Yeah, you are getting the best out of him. What was the conversation like bringing him back in after last season? What did you say to him over the summer? There weren’t big conversations. There weren’t big conversations. We create the culture, we set the values, we set the standards, we set the expectations of what it looks like every day in training, and players that want to do that will be part of it, and players that don’t, won’t. Joe’s shown that he does. He’s running through a brick wall every single week in training, every single week in games, and we know that he’s got an eye for goal and we know that he’s very, very difficult for teams to play against. I’ve had people tell me in the past he can be a bit difficult because, as you say, he gets frustrated at certain things. I just don’t see that. I don’t see that. He’s very black and white. Wants to enjoy football. Wants to have a laugh. Wants to enjoy what he’s doing, and he does. When he’s doing that, he looks a real talent and a real threat. So yeah, we have to manage that. But I’d like to think that Joe understands the standards and the culture that we’re building and that we’ve built so far, and he’s very much living within that. I think he’s thriving within that. So while ever we’re enjoying Joe and he’s enjoying us, I’m sure the performances will be there. Derensili Sanches Fernandes You have to tell us about this mask thing. What’s this all about? Because we’ve not had the official version from you. Yeah, I just had a golden boot, and then one guy, Noah Naujoks, because I kept scoring with that boot, he said, “Oh, Golden Boy, Golden Boy.” Then we had a promotion game, then I got a golden mask, and that’s how it started. That’s how it started. So every time you score now, are we going to see this? No, because the EFL is going to charge me! There’s no fun anymore, is there? Can I also ask, on an international level as well, obviously Cape Verde became really well known this summer because of the World Cup. What’s your situation there? Is that who you would like to be involved with internationally going forward? Yeah, of course. I think the first time they called me up was last year. It was a miscommunication between me and them. And yeah, I hope this year it’s going to come again someday. And can you describe how that whole World Cup experience has affected them, and Cape Verde as well? Yeah, I do think the World Cup put them in the light where they belong. They have good footballers, good players, but most of all good people and a good team. That’s what got them far in the tournament. We’ve seen that relationship you have with Ilias on the right wing has been very productive. And Radinio as well as a Dutchman. Is it helpful to have players who you can communicate with and you have that relationship with playing down your side? Yeah, of course. Ilias and I don’t even really need to speak, we just do the same things like we did in the Eredivisie. And yeah, now my English is getting better. At the beginning it was worse, so you have to get the feeling, you know, to play with each other. But it’s getting better. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.weareterriers.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.weareterriers.com In this week’s We Are Terriers podcast, we discuss Huddersfield Town’s midweek EFL Trophy victory away at Doncaster Rovers and analyse Saturday’s goalless draw with a Mansfield Town team who played a half with 10 players. If you’re already subscribed, you can give a gift subscription to a friend, family member, enemy, pet with an email address…whatever y…

Here are some of the edited highlights from the press conference — you can find the full audio above or in your podcast feed. Martin Drury Martin, congratulations on the Manager of the Month award. You said in the club announcement today that you very much see it as a team accolade, but just how nice is it to have that recognition from some of your footballing peers? Of course, it’s lovely. It’s lovely, and I’m very grateful to the judges of it and to receive the award. As you rightly say, it’s a real representation of the bigger picture, of everybody involved at the training ground, at the stadium. Whether that be the security guard on the gate in the morning when you’re driving in and how they make a player feel, or the chef when he’s serving the food, how they make a player feel, and the interactions and all those different cogs that make a football club work. I think it’s a lovely award for me to accept on behalf of everybody and the collective effort, right from the owner all the way through the football club. And as I link the two this week, I think the biggest thank you has to go to the players. It’s the players that are running around when the whistle blows, and they’re the ones that are going to war every week and running and fighting and showing spirit. So that’s very much for them as well. But I’ll accept it on behalf of everyone, and it’s a lovely, lovely moment for us. Should Joe [Taylor] have been the Player of the Month? Well, I would have given it Joe, and Joe would have given it Joe! But no, I think he’s been brilliant and he should have been heavily considered for that. He’s been outstanding, both in his goals and his contributions in games, not just from a statistical point of view, but the way he’s running, his output in games for the team has been exceptional. So yeah, if you’re asking me, then I would give it Joe for sure. On to Mansfield then. Going into tomorrow’s game, how useful an exercise was Tuesday night in the EFL Trophy to consider going into tomorrow’s match? Yeah, really valuable. I’m a big advocate for the tournament and all types of tournaments. I think it gives every club a platform to use it for whatever they need, and I felt we did that on Tuesday, making 10 changes. Players that are training so hard right now deserve to be playing football, and I’m the bad guy most weeks when I tell them they’re not able to play and they’re not ahead of other people. So I thought they all acquitted themselves really, really well on Tuesday night, did themselves no harm whatsoever and, of course, that makes my job even harder selecting a team and selecting a squad. So full credit to the players. As I said after the game, they can’t get through that 90 minutes on Tuesday night against a really strong Doncaster team unless their daily work, how they’re going about it every single day, the attitude and application that they’re showing and the levels that they’re showing every day are absolutely at the top of their capability. So they’ve been brilliant, and they deserve to play football. It was a tough experience the last time Huddersfield Town faced Mansfield Town at the Accu at the end of last season. How far do you feel the squad, the club, has come in a relatively short space of time? Does it feel almost like a different lifetime in some ways? Well, tomorrow will be the test of that for sure. I feel there is a togetherness about the club, about the group, about the way that we train, the way that we work every day. I still think we’re very much at the start of the journey. I think we’ve achieved nothing so far. We’ve had a relatively positive start, and I really like the feel around the place. I love the players. I love how they’re going about things every day. Tomorrow will be a real test for us. It is one that we look forward to. Of course, that was a really difficult day at the back end of the season. That’s eaten me alive for the last five months, I’ll be honest. It was a really tough day. So we’re cautious because we know the challenge ahead of us tomorrow, but we’re also excited to embrace it. You talk a lot about the culture within the squad now and reacting to adversity, reacting to setbacks, which was something that maybe at times was a bit of a problem last season. Do you feel you’re seeing signs that they’re overcoming that now? If you concede a goal, if something happens, are they mentally in a better position to be able to deal with that now? I felt that way, and then I wanted to see if there were some stats that could evidence that and back that up. We had a look yesterday, and I presented to the players that at the back end of last season, around the last 15 minutes of games – or beyond 75 minutes of games, should I say – where we would sit in a league table, we were rock bottom. We’re currently top, or joint-top as far as I’m aware. So that would give me confidence to feel that we have made developments in that area. And as you rightly say, the mentality of the group, I feel, is in a different place. I love that we’re able to suffer together. I love how the players are responding to setbacks within games. I love the relentless nature that they’re showing every day in training when they’re being pushed and they’re under fatigue and they’re tired. I feel that’s then demonstrated when they go to the games, and that can only happen if you make it habitual for how you train every day. So we’ll continue to do that, and hopefully the players will keep growing. I think the big thing is they believe in each other. I can see that they believe in each other, and that’s really important in football. So we continue as we have been doing, but now’s the time to put the foot down again and we push hard. You drive incredibly high standards, rightly so. With that in mind, there haven’t been that many clean sheets so far this season. Is that something that’s weighing on your mind at all, or does it not really matter as long as the team are winning? The moments that have stopped us keeping clean sheets weigh on my mind for sure, and that’s the way that we need to work and address those things. We’ve had one. I feel Matty’s been really good in goal, and I feel the back lads have defended impeccably well in a lot of games when we have suffered in certain games and had to defend. They’ve been brilliant. So I definitely feel stronger. We’re definitely stronger. But you’re rightly saying we want more clean sheets than we have got. That’s going to be important if we want to be successful. So it’s certainly something that we’re mindful of. It’s not weighing us down in any way, but it definitely directs how we work every day, and the players are also owning that as well. You can see by their attitude and application that they want to get better in certain things. So tomorrow will be a big test of that, particularly in both boxes and second-phase situations, which Mansfield are very, very strong in. It’s something that we’ll have to pay real attention to tomorrow. Team-wise, how are you looking for tomorrow? Well, as we were last week. No change. We’ve had players back on-pitch training today. Jack Whatmough has been involved today. Obviously, Lynden Gooch played on Tuesday, which was great to get him back from being injured. Sean Roughan is involved in training today. Samson [Tovide]’s been closer the last two days, so we’ve got a number of players that are edging really close to returning, but not quite making tomorrow. So, as I say, they’re edging closer, but we’ll be mindful of making sure that they’re right before they come back in — but I’d like to think in seven days’ time we’ll have a few more back. Cameron Humphreys Cameron, you’re back at the club for a second time. How has it been settling back in? Yeah, yeah, really well. Obviously, it’s nice knowing a lot of familiar faces around the club. So yeah, it’s been a real smooth transition back in. Lovely to be able to see the game last Tuesday night and, yeah, it’s been nice to be back. Does it feel any different this time so far? I think there’s definitely a good feeling around the club. I think there’s a lot of positivity. Obviously, a few changes to the squad, so yeah, nice to get to know a few new faces. But yeah, on the whole, really, really glad to be back, and there does seem a good feeling around the club. What kind of inspired your decision to want to come and have this loan spell? Because you did really well in pre-season with Ipswich and were getting glowing reviews for your performances, so why make the move to come back here? Yeah, I really enjoyed my pre-season with Ipswich. I was able to get good minutes and really enjoyed playing and being part of that squad. But more regular minutes is something that I wanted and something I feel I need at this stage of my career. Obviously, working with the manager and some of the coaching staff here last year, I really enjoyed that, so that was definitely a big part of it. I’d been in contact with both him and Chris little bits throughout the summer, and they were definitely big in me coming back, as well as knowing the quality that we have in the squad, seeing the additions that they’ve made, so knowing that we could be really competitive this year. Was there a little bit of you that thought, “Should I maybe stick around at Ipswich and try and fight for my place here?” Yeah, I think so. Again, I’d done okay in pre-season and was happy competing and seeing what could happen there, but I think to make the decision to get more consistent minutes was one that me and the club came to. So yeah, I’m just glad to be here and almost focusing on that, playing as many games as I can and trying to help the team win. Obviously, a lot of reasons to come back here. Was there any interest from Championship clubs as well, looking at

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.weareterriers.com It’s a big old week on the We Are Terriers podcast. We’ve got five transfers to talk about, a summer window review, plus two games to talk about after Town’s 3-1 win over Oxford and their 1-1 draw with Notts County. If you’re already subscribed, you can give a gift subscription to a friend, family member, enemy, pet with an email address…whatever you fanc…

Here are some of the edited highlights from the press conference — you can find the full audio above or in your podcast feed. Martin Drury Can we start with the team news? You mentioned that David Kasumu had picked up a bit of a groin injury in your post-match after the Notts County game. What’s the situation with him, please? Yeah, he felt his groin in the warm-up, and we hoped it would be nothing, but it looks to be a little bit more than we first thought. So it won’t be a long one, but probably a little bit longer than we first anticipated. We’ll look after David and get him back as soon as we can. Ethan Brierley obviously came back into the matchday squad in his place. What’s happening with him at the moment? Are you pleased with his development? Yeah, Ethan’s showing loads day to day. He’s showing loads of the things that we want from players in that position, and as a human being he’s showing loads of the qualities that we want, which is why we brought him to the club. As I said before with Ethan, he’s a young player, but he’s got loads of experience at this level, having played a lot of minutes last season, which is again why we were so drawn to him in the summer and why we signed him on a three-year contract. We see him as someone who hopefully we can provide an environment for that he can develop in, and we’ve no doubt that he’s only going to get better and better with us. So he’s pushing, like everybody else, to be in the squad and be in the starting line-up every week. Whilst it looks like he’s not close to it, he is much closer than it might appear. He trains impeccably well. The way he conducts himself around the place every day has been exceptional. So, yeah, Ethan’s one we’re still working with and is still going to play a big part for us this season. And would you say that’s mirrored a little bit by Jay Sway, who came on again at the weekend? Would you say it’s a similar path for him? Yeah, definitely. Obviously, Jay’s someone the club has known for a little bit longer than Ethan, having been in the building for the last few years, so I think we know a bit more about him. He obviously plays in a slightly different position to Ethan and has different attributes, but definitely is another young player who we feel has high potential. Look, we want to build a club that is long-term thinking as well as short-term, and these players are going to play a big part for us. They’ve got great attitudes. They’ve had a really good upbringing in terms of the academy football and then first-team football that they’ve both played. They’re two of a number of players in the group that we’re excited to continue working with. And you’ve got this EFL Trophy tie coming up tomorrow night, Martin. Is there a chance that Archie Collins gets more minutes? Yeah, definitely. Archie will be involved tomorrow, as will the two players that you mentioned previously there in Jay and Ethan. Look, there are a lot of players that I’ve had to disappoint over the last few weeks and tell them that they’re not starting games for us and haven’t played the minutes that they want to play and that they deserve to play because of how they’re going about it every single day. So it’s a good chance for us to continue building on our identity and how we want to look and how we want to play. But it’s also good for a couple of players to get those much-needed minutes, and the minutes that they deserve, in their legs tomorrow evening in what promises to be a real tough game. It’s a funny one then, because you talk about how the culture is really good there. You’re unbeaten at the beginning of the season. There must be part of you that thinks, “Ah, I don’t want to change too much.” Of course. We want to be consistent in terms of our identity and what we look like, what our behaviours look like on the pitch, both with and without the ball and everything in between. So we want to stay consistent with that. We’ve built an environment and a culture right now where, because we’re doing that every day, it doesn’t really matter which players we start the game with. We’re confident that will be evident when you watch us play. I’ve no doubts that any player who plays tomorrow night will continue doing that. So we’re looking forward to it. The players are looking forward to it, and we understand the game will be a real tough game. We’ve got a lot of respect for Doncaster, but it’s one we’re looking forward to embracing. Jay Sway I’ve been watching you in the academy for a good while now and seeing you develop from right-back to then moving to other positions. Your versatility has really been a major asset for you over the past few years, hasn’t it? Do you feel like that is something that comes naturally to you, or is that something you have to work on as a young player? I think personally it just comes naturally. My understanding for the game – obviously it’s tough going in and out of positions, but I think overall it’s going to make you a better player. So wherever I play, I just, like I said, maximise out and do the best I can, to be honest. Do you feel like it’s partly to do with your skill set? You’ve got a set of abilities that does translate well to a number of different positions, doesn’t it? Yeah, yeah. I think obviously my ability can get transferred into different positions, like you said, which is a positive thing. I think being versatile, you’re going to need it in the modern game, so it’s a positive thing. So when you come into this summer under Martin, do you sort of come into that kind of situation thinking, “This is another chance to impress, and if I do well this time then there really is a chance that you can get first-team football this season,” as you are doing now? Of course. Obviously, the gaffer’s come in. I just see it as another pair of eyes to impress, with all the other coaching staff as well. So yeah, it’s a new opportunity and I’ve just got to make sure I’m ready to take that. And it’s a really good academy group that you’re part of now, isn’t it? We’ve seen obviously George [Sebine] has now gone out to Rotherham, but there are other players in that group as well, like Max Murray, who’ve been involved in the team. Dan Vost as well. There are others coming through as well, aren’t there? That must be quite exciting to see, to be one of that group who potentially could make an impact on the first team over the next few months and years. Yeah, no, of course. I think the academy is in a really good place right now. Obviously, there are a lot of academy products coming through, which is great to see, and I’m sure they’ll be amazing. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.weareterriers.com/subscribe

Here are some of the edited highlights from the press conference — you can find the full audio above or in your podcast feed. Martin Drury Let’s reflect on the transfer window first of all. Overall, how happy are you with the business that has been done? Relatively pleased. I think we have added some players to the group who have qualities that were missing last season, so I feel some areas have been addressed in a really, really positive way. On the whole, with the group, I am pleased, and I think we are equipped enough to keep building on the positive start we have had, and hopefully we can develop how we play and keep developing our performances. Did you get pretty much all the targets you earmarked? Is a man ever happy? I don’t think so. It would have been nice to get one or two more, but on the whole I think there have been some really great additions that we have brought in. The work that has gone on across the summer from the recruitment department, from Chris, from everybody, and then the support from Kevin and Dave, has been really, really good. Now it is for us to deliver, build connections between the players, and make sure over time that we are developing everything we are doing. One of those new arrivals on deadline day was Cameron Humphreys, who you talked about after the game on Tuesday night. You talked about his versatility and the fact he is a known quantity. In an ideal world, do you have a role for him in mind that you would like to see him in more often than not? Genuinely, no. I just think he is such a versatile player. The season will throw up all sorts of obstacles and challenges for us. Some people will be fit, some people will not be fit. Last season, Cameron played quite deep for us in a number of games, because of necessity, but also because we knew he had the quality to do that. He helped us. He really helped us build. But we know from his history, and from being on loan in the past in this league, that he has got an eye for goal and is capable of scoring goals. Cam enjoys scoring goals, as any player does, but Cam in particular likes scoring goals. He has got a really humble way about him. As long as he is on the pitch and playing his football, he will play anywhere for us. That is one of the main things, on top of all the other great things he has going for him, that drew us back to Cam. We really hoped we could get him in the building again. I think he will play in different positions for us, and I have absolutely no doubt that he will excel in whichever role he is asked to play because of who he is as a player and who he is as a person. There were a couple of players who were maybe expected to move on but ultimately have not. They have not really been in your squads up to this point. How do you deal with them now in terms of man management, and what do you expect from them in return? The expectation of those players not being here was only from outside the club. That was not my expectation. My interpretation is that we have got a group of players with quality. We have got really good players, and the nature of any successful organisation is that people accept there is competition for places. You have to compete and you have to deliver every single day. Players who are starting and players who are not starting are all in the exact same boat. It is not 10 or 11 players who are going to help us be successful this season. Everybody is going to play a part. But it will not be that people are waiting for their chance to play based on us being fair and sharing things out. It will be earned, and it will be earned every single day in how they conduct themselves around the place, how they train and how they work. Players will play who we trust and who we believe in. I have to say, I do not see anybody in the building who is not the right type of person that we want. They were all brought to the club for that reason. The fact everybody is here means there are some really good footballers we can choose from, and it is up to them to convince us and, once they are in the team, to deliver. What I do like is that there is a real togetherness about them, whether they are playing or not playing. I can see every single day there is a real connection between them. Everybody needs to feel they have got a chance to play and that they can earn the right to play, and they have. But that is every day in training. They have to do that every day in training, and they are fully aware of that. We are fully aware as staff how much we need to help and support them to be able to do that. So it has never been a case that you have taken somebody to one side and said, “Look, you are just not in my plans, you are not going to play, you may be better off looking elsewhere”? There is always that window of opportunity for people, even if they have not been featuring in the squads up to this point? There have definitely been conversations, but not in the same way you described it there. There have been conversations around people wanting to play football, but all the players want to play football, and I am pleased with that. I am glad they do. I would be worried if they did not. People are obviously coming and asking questions, but it is not done in a disrespectful way. Everyone is knocking on the door saying: “What do you need from me? What do you want me to do? What do I need to do to get in the team? When I do get my chance, is there anything you need to see from me specifically?” Everyone is fully aware of the things we feel they are really strong at, fully aware of the things we feel they need to get better at, and the plan for how we help them get better at those things. When the opportunity comes, they are able to grasp that and deliver. I have never sat with a player and said: “You will not play for me. You are not going to play for me. You are not in my plans.” But I have had conversations around it being difficult because there is competition for those places. Everyone is aware of the challenge. Nobody can turn around in a couple of months and say: “I did not expect this was going to be the case.” We want a competitive environment every single day. That drives culture, quality, delivery and the development of all the players in training, and that is what we will continue to do. Everyone knows they have got a fair chance if they deliver. Joe Taylor Just how much are you enjoying your football right now? I am honestly in a really good spot at the minute, and I think it is there for everyone to see. I have come back and hit the ground running, continuing from where I left off last season. Now it is all eyes on Saturday for me. What do you put that good start down to? I suspect there are quite a few different factors at play. There are definitely a few, but I could not really narrow it down to one. It is an accumulation of everything. The coaching staff, my teammates, everyone at the football club has been brilliant. Obviously I was away for the second half of last season, but they have fitted me back into the fold as if I had never left. The easiest part for me has been going out onto the pitch and doing what I know I can do. That relationship between yourself and the other forwards — Sanches Fernandes, Ashley Fletcher, Bojan Radulovic as well — just how effectively are all of you working together at the moment? It seems like the relationship between you all is clicking quickly. The proof is in the pudding, isn’t it? We are scoring a lot of goals, we are playing well together, and we are all chipping in. We are all very different from each other. Bojan and Fletch have similar styles, if you like. Then you have the pace and technical ability of Derens. Then there is me, who is the fortunate one at the minute putting the ball in the back of the net. As a unit, they are really enjoyable to work with. I have only good words to say about any of them, and I think we all bring different aspects to that front line. I really enjoy working with them. That relationship can surely only get stronger as the season progresses, can’t it? Absolutely. The more games we box off together, naturally, because there are quite a few of us, there is going to be rotation. But we are big believers in each other’s ability, so there is no bitterness there whatsoever. For example, Fletch started and did really well, then on Tuesday night against Oxford, Bojan came in, fitted straight in and scored. Whoever is playing, the others are still around us and still supporting us. We are in a very good spot. You mentioned the coaching staff as well. How are Martin Drury, Alan Knill and Jon Stead getting the best out of you? Essentially, they are giving me a platform every day in training, and more importantly, giving me a platform in games to go out there and really showcase what I can do. I know what I can do. I think I started showing last year what I was capable of. Now it is about going out there, trying to be free and trying to show that again. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.weareterriers.com/subscribe