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Have your say: Yorkshire trio still gunning for title
Danny Wilson takes Sheffield United to promotion rivals Huddersfield Town.
HUDDERSFIELD TOWN manager Lee Clark insists the League One title is still up for grabs on a night when a quirk of the fixture list means the top six will go head-to-head.
The Terriers host Sheffield United at the Galpharm Stadium knowing that victory together with Sheffield Wednesday failing to beat Stevenage at Hillsborough would mean a return to the automatic promotion places.
Should that dream scenario for Town come to reality, however, Clark’s side would still be comfortably adrift of pace-setters Charlton Athletic, who host fourth-placed Milton Keynes Dons at The Valley to complete the trio of fixtures involving the promotion-chasing sides.
Despite that, the Huddersfield manager insists the London side can still be caught by the chasing pack.
He said: “Charlton are doing brilliantly and I don’t want to be disrespectful to them but you can go anywhere in this division and get beat. No results are a given.
“Top teams can go to those teams fighting relegation and drop points, as it showed when we went to Tranmere (last month and drew 2-2). Charlton have been more consistent this season in terms of wins achieved but we will never give up until it is mathematically impossible.”
Charlton lead the table on 64 points but the three Yorkshire clubs sitting immediately below the Londoners are separated by just two points.
Possession of second place has moved between the trio of White Rose sides on an almost weekly basis, something that both Huddersfield manager Clark and Blades counterpart Danny Wilson believe will continue for some time yet.
Clark said: “If we win against Sheffield United, we have a chance of going second. But I am sure Sheffield Wednesday will have something to say about that.
“It will keep changing and that is why nothing will be decided (tonight). What we have to do is go on a winning run. That would help us create a bit of breathing space because, at the moment, we all seem to be mirroring each other’s results.”
Wilson agreed, the United chief adding: “There are still so many games to play that there is bound to be lots of chopping and changing at the top.
“It is a quirk of the fixture list (tonight) that should make for a very exciting night with all the top six taking on one another.”
Among the many fascinating aspects of tonight’s derby at the Galpharm is the prospect of a shoot-out between two of the game’s in-form strikers.
Jordan Rhodes, with 29 goals to this name, has undoubtedly been the most talked about player outside the Premier League in recent months but Blades striker Ched Evans has also been in prolific form.
The Welsh international has found the net 19 times this term and is being linked with a possible move to Swansea City, Bolton Wanderers, Middlesbrough and Ipswich Town.
Wilson, however, is adamant both strikers can reach the Premier League without having to move due to playing for the two teams he rates as “the most exciting in League One”.
The Blades manager said: “Huddersfield and ourselves have the potential to be Premier League clubs, and that is where we both want to be. So why not?
“We want Ched to stay here, without a doubt, and Huddersfield don’t want to lose Jordan. Their records this season say they are the best strikers outside the Premier League, and I wouldn’t argue with that.
“They are fantastic players, very talented boys who are at the top of their form right now. They go about their jobs in different ways – Ched is strong and powerful with a cannonball in both feet, while Jordan is silky smooth and loses his markers with the clever way he ghosts into the box.
“But the end result is the same – they are both full of goals.”
As Huddersfield and the Blades prepare to do battle, Sheffield Wednesday manager Gary Megson is looking for his side to capitalise on the fact at least one of the club’s Yorkshire rivals will drop points tonight.
To do so, however, Megson insists the Owls will have to improve hugely on their efforts on Saturday when a 2-1 defeat at Exeter City meant they blew a chance to put some distance between themselves and the chasing pack.
The Wednesday chief said: “We blew it big-style at Exeter, and while the games have the same amount of importance, we knew everybody would be playing each other in the top six.
“It was not acceptable to perform like that, (though) not everyone because there were some good performances.
“Stevenage have had a terrific season so far, they gave us a real good hiding at their place (the Owls lost 5-1 in September). It was a watershed for us, because from that point on we were fantastic, up until the start of January.”
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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