Everton v Huddersfield Town: Terriers have rebooted ahead of trip to Goodison

“Learn from this,” said the German following the 5-0 defeat to Arsenal that represented the joint heaviest of his reign in the West Riding, “but then we move on. Saturday is a fresh game and we go again.”

It is an approach that served the Terriers well last season en route to winning promotion. No matter what the setback – and there were a few big ones – Wagner’s mantra was to move on quickly and put things right.

“Teams will have nights like Arsenal,” said defender Martin Cranie to The Yorkshire Post ahead of today’s trip to Everton for Sam Allardyce’s first game at the helm. “We knew that before the start of the season. Winning every game just wasn’t going to happen, especially at places like Arsenal.

“They are a brilliant team, you only have to look at their football to see that. We won’t be the only team to lose like that against them this season.

“The key now is that we dust ourselves down. We had a look at the game (on Thursday) and then moved on. You have to because the next game comes round quickly.

“Everton having a new manager could work for or against us. I have seen it go both ways, to be honest. They won in midweek (4-0 at home to West Ham United) so have already had a response from what happened last weekend when they lost (4-1 at Southampton).

“We will not have Arsenal in our minds when we go there. It is a fresh game and we go again. The manager is good like that, he told us in the dressing room after the Arsenal defeat that we have to move on.

“It is done and we move forward. It is what we did last season. You can’t change your last result – just influence what happens next. We won promotion by doing that. Every club – well, maybe apart from maybe Manchester City at the moment – loses games. It is how you bounce back that matters.

“Everyone knows we have had three defeats in a row. It has been tough. But we knew a spell like this would come along at some stage in the season. How we deal with it now is important.”

Cranie had early experience of the unique demands that accompany playing in the Premier League. His top-flight debut as a 17-year-old came out of position as a left-wing-back as Southampton crashed to a 4-0 defeat against a Chelsea side who just a few days later would compete in a Champions League semi-final.

Five more appearances followed in the colours of both the Saints and Portsmouth, the defender having moved to Fratton Park in 2007. His last start among the elite before this season came against a Manchester United side featuring Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez, Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs.

“The Premier League has changed a bit since I was last here,” said the 31-year-old, who has featured in three of Town’s last four league outings. “It is a lot quicker now, and the pace of the game seems much faster.

“Players are more physical now, much more beefed up. Everyone is an athlete now and we have to train hard. We have strong, physical players in our team and that is what you need.

“I am delighted to be playing, even if the results haven’t been the best lately. Arsenal is always a tough place to come, but, beforehand, we wanted to get a result. Most people wrote us off, but we felt we could get something. It was only when they blitzed us for those five minutes midway through the second half (as Arsenal netted three times) that things went wrong.”

Cranie’s other start in the league came as Huddersfield crashed 4-0 at Bournemouth. That afternoon pretty much summed up what life on the road has been like for the Terriers, who were the better side in the early exchanges, but were unable to score when on top.

An inability to capitalise on good opportunities cost Town dear. They cannot afford a repeat today against Everton and Allardyce, whose managerial bow at Blackpool in 1994 ended in a 4-1 defeat to Town.

“We do feel to be competing against the top teams,” added the defender, who joined Town from Barnsley in 2015.

“I know the result at Arsenal doesn’t back that up, but against United a few weeks ago and City last Sunday, we did compete really well.

“Proving we can hold our own in this league is okay, but we have to get points off the other teams. That means starting with the trip to Everton. The key is forgetting all about what happened at Arsenal.

“They scored early, but we came back well. We had a couple of opportunities to make it 1-1, but couldn’t score. It was still 1-0 until 65 or 70 minutes had gone,but then they got the next goal and blitzed it for the next five minutes. It was a bit like a whirlwind and they got away from us.

“Losing as heavily as we did was disappointing, but there were positives to take into our next match. We held our own for long periods of the game. It was just a 10-15 minute spell where we weren’t at it.

“That, though, is what the Premier League is all about. I know that from my time at Portsmouth when I was younger. You have to take your chances when they come along. That hasn’t changed, as Arsenal proved by beating us in midweek.”