Danny Cowley says Huddersfield Town should not celebrate escaping relegation

The Terriers beat West Bromwich Albion to ensure that, barring a goal-difference miracle, they will be playing second-tier football next season. It also had the effect of confirming Leeds United's promotion to the Premier League.

Having inherited a team in disarray after Premier League relegation when he replaced Jan Siewert in early September, it was a considerable achievement to preserve their status, but Cowley insisted the emotion was one of relief after his gamble with the gameplan paid off.

“I don't know if this is a celebration, it's just a relief for me,” he insisted. “I don't think we should celebrate not getting relegated but I'm proud of the efforts of the players, there's no doubt about that.

“Last week we let ourselves down (against Luton Town). It's definitely kept me up most nights this week, that game, but we had to respond to that and we did. Against Sheffield Wednesday we made some steps forward and I felt we went up another notch tonight.”

Cowley picked a conservative team, leaving top-scorer Karlan Grant, fans favourite Steve Mounie and the team's most gifted player, on-loan Arsenal teenager Emile Smith Rowe on the bench but the latter came off the bench to score an 86th-minute winner.

“We had a gameplan and we thought we would be criticised leaving Mounie out, Grant and Emile, probably our most creative player but we knew they were tired because they've given everything and we also knew this game would get tired and if we could frustrate West Brom and pressed with Fraizer (Campbell) and Lewis O'Brien, and we could disrupt them and not give them any rhythm, the midfield and the full-backs would start to come out and try to build around you and it would open up the middle so we could counter through the middle,” he said.

“I thought in the first half it went really well for 30 minutes and we went 1-0 up (through Chris Willock) but I thought we should have found the second goal and they scored (through Dara O'Shea). It looked offside. It gave them some momentum going into half-time and we had to see that out.

“At half-time we didn't want to go into victim mode, which you can easily do when things go against you.

“Credit to the players, they didn't and I thought they really controlled the second half. I didn't really feel threatened by a very, very good West Brom team.”

Although it was Smith Rowe who scored the winner, fittingly it was created by academy product O'Brien.

“No one deserved it more than Lewis because he's been brilliant for us this season and it was great that he had such an influence,” said Cowley.

“When we brought Emile in in January, most of the signings we made were to improve the culture, we brought Andy King and Richard Stearman in because they were really good professionals who would help the young group that we inherited.

“Emile wasn't really a player that suited the relegation battle but we knew he was a top, top player. We've been on at him to score more goals because in training he's such a good finisher.

“The big players, they play their biggest performances in the big games when their team needs them most.

“For Lewis in first full season in the Championship he's been incredible and Hoggy (Jonathan Hogg) was everywhere tonight.

“Young Chris Willock for 30 minutes was unplayable. He gave us such a counter threat.

“I'm just proud of the group because we've taken a lot of criticism and most of it's been fair but no one really know how hard it has been and where it was when we picked it up.

“Without doubt it's the toughest job I've ever done.

“We're still not mathematically safe yet. QPR are only three points above us now and somebody tells me that other than when they got promoted, the highest they've finished in the last 20 years was 16th, so that's something for us to work towards on Wednesday.”

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