Huddersfield Town 1 Chesterfield 0: Feed Rhodes and he will score, insists Clark

Rhodes grabbed the only goal against bottom club Chesterfield to end Town’s mini slump.

The newly-capped Scotland international has now scored 20 goals for his club this season, and chairman Dean Hoyle has vowed to resist all bids come January as Rhodes bagged the winner in the 34th minute and looked to be the only one likely to score all afternoon.

Clark’s message to his players afterwards was simple: “Create chances and Jordan Rhodes will score goals.”

Rhodes bagged four at Sheffield Wednesday last week and is being tracked by a host of Premier League scouts and Clark will fight tooth and nail to keep him.

Clark said: “Jordan scored four goals last week and we made chances for him. He scored again against Chesterfield because we made chances for him.

“He didn’t score against Bournemouth and we didn’t create chances. It’s that simple.

“What’s the point in having one of the best strikers around if you don’t create chances for him?”

Rhodes scored with a cheeky back heel, flicking home Lee Novak’s cross and that was sufficient. Before he scored he flashed a diving header wide from Jack Hunt’s cross and, unbalanced, headed a corner beyond the upright.

Donal McDermott and Gary Roberts set him up for another chance and only a desperate lunge by right-back Drew Talbot kept his goal-bound shot out.

Town should have had the game sewn up at the break but afterwards they eased off and Rhodes was starved of service.

McDermott’s drive went over and Novak headed wide but Town were almost caught out when the Spireites had two close calls within four minutes.

First Dean Morgan fired just wide and then Jordan Bowery was just inches away from the far post with Ian Bennett struggling to get across.

A game Town should have won at a canter ended with an anxious four minutes of stoppage time.

Huddersfield Town: Bennett; Hunt, Bruce, Kay, Naysmith (T Clarke 82); McDermott (Arfield 61), Miller, Gobern, Roberts; Novak (A Lee 76), Rhodes. Unused substitutes: Colgan, Parkin.

Chesterfield: T Lee; Talbot, Trotman, Robertson, Smith; Mendy, Whitaker, Allott, Morgan; Bowery, Obadeyi (Westcarr 75). Unused substitutes: Fleming, Bowery, Mattis, Griffiths.

Referee: C Boyeson (East Yorks).