Huddersfield Town boss Mark Fotheringham accentuates positives despite lowly status after latest setback at Blackburn Rovers

BELIEF: Huddersfield Town manager Mark Fotheringham Picture: Nigel French/PA

HUDDERSFIELD TOWN head coach Mark Fotheringham hailed his players after their 1-0 defeat at Blackburn Rovers – his only criticism being their lack of a cutting edge in front of goal.

The hosts dominated an opening half of little action but went in a goal to the good after a moment of magic from Ben Brereton Diaz, who produced a clinical 35th-minute finish to notch his ninth of the campaign.

After breaking the Terriers’ resistance, it felt as though the floodgates would open but an onslaught never materialised and it was the Championship’s bottom club who had the better chances, with Jack Rudoni missing a gilt-edged opportunity early in the second half.

Rovers held on to make it five wins from their last six games and they can leapfrog leaders Burnley with a win at Turf Moor next weekend.

Huddersfield remain rooted to the foot of the table, five points adrift of second-bottom Wigan Athletic and six points from safety.

Nevertheless, Fotheringham thought his side’s performance was “superb”, only urging them to be more clinical.

“The fact is the performances are superb,” said the Town boss. “You can’t say they’re not. The team is performing, they are putting in energetic displays, they’re all playing with confidence.

"They hemmed Blackburn in there pretty much for the last 15-20 minutes and on another day, if Rudoni takes his chance or we take a penalty from Sorba (Thomas), the minimum we go home with is a point.

“That’s the frustrating thing for me because if we’re more clinical in the opposition’s box, we’re definitely winning more games.

“It’s about having more conviction and more confidence in what you’re doing, getting a cleaner contact on the ball and also maybe a little bit more fluid when we win the ball in certain counter attacking situations because we had the whole stadium on their backs in the first half because they didn’t know how to play through us.

“When you look at that and you see Blackburn flying and playing with confidence, they never troubled us.”

Blackburn Rovers: Kaminski, Brittain, Hyam, Ayala, Pickering, Morton, Travis, Hedges (Dolan 79), Szmodics (Vale 80), Brereton, Gallagher (Scott Wharton 67). Unused substitutes: Pears, Carter, Dack, Garrett.

Huddersfield Town: Nicholls, Spencer, Helik, Boyle, Ruffels, Kasumu, Camara (Diarra 72), Thomas, Rudoni, Holmes, Ward (Rhodes 81). Unused substitutes: Mbete-Tabu, Mahoney, Kesler, Jackson, Bilokapic.

Referee: James Linington (Isle of Wight).