Huddersfield Town goalkeeper Lee Nicholls on why a League One promotion 'story' would mean so much more

Especially, when things aren't going particularly well.

Which brings us to Huddersfield Town goalkeeper Lee Nicholls.

The vastly-experienced custodian addressed the press recently. Coincidentally, at a period of time when the shine from a strong enough start to the season for the Terriers was starting to fade and one or two natives were beginning to get a bit restless.

There have been several other previous examples of this during his time at the club.

Back in April, he spoke when there was a whiff of cordite in the air among Town followers following an awful run of form at the end of last season.

Nicholls was part of a battered and bruised group who were closer to the relegation zone in League One than the automatic promotion positions. Chants of 'You’re not fit to wear the shirt’ periodically filled the spring air.

The previous month, the Liverpudlian also assumed media duties ahead of a huge game against Wrexham at the start of March. Town lost, very unluckily, and four days later, Michael Duff was sacked.

During the run-in of 2023-24 when the Terriers were fighting intense fires at the bottom of the Championship, Nicholls, true to form, was among those who stepped up.

It speaks of a proper professional and also one who is desperate for the club to succeed. A player who has also been through a lot.

Nicholls' time at Huddersfield has been the proverbial rollercoaster.

In his first season at the club in 2021-22, he kept 18 clean sheets, was named as player of the year and included in both the EFL Championship Team of the Season and Professional Footballers' Association Team of the Year. He was part of a team who were within one win of the Premier League.

Injuries blighted the next two campaigns, which were both battles against the drop. He had the memory of a crucial late-season contribution in the 'Great Escape' story of Neil Warnock in 2023-24 to savour, at least.

The 2024-25 campaign wasn't the renaissance year anyone hoped for following relegation.

The signs are that this season won't be straight-forward, either.

One thing is for sure. Given his all experiences, good and bad, success at Huddersfield Town would mean that bit more to Nicholls, who signed a contract extension last month, keeping him at the club until June 2028. He recently turned 33.

Nicholls, who has usurped Owen Goodman in the league line-up after starting the season as number two, told The Yorkshire Post: "I think it would (mean more).

"I feel like we were at the top and 90 minutes from the Premier League and then since then, it's sort of gone backwards a lot and I think with my story, I'd like it (promotion) to be the next step, which would be to get back to where we were.

"Because I think with the chairman - the way he's investing money and he's bought the stadium and he's doing all the right things behind the scenes - and then Jake (Edwards) with the way he's recruited and the way the gaffer is and the coaches are and the way the feel is around the training ground, I feel like it's going in the right direction.

"I think when I signed, it was a bit like I didn't know whether I was going to come straight in and play and as soon as I signed, the fans welcomed me and got behind me.

"They have backed me and I feel like I'd like my next step in my story to be that we would win the promotion.

"It's over to us now to get the fans on side and keep growing as a team and keep causing teams problems and hopefully we can become that team that people sort of don't want to play against."

Town head into Thursday's home game with Bolton Wanderers on the back of a disappointing run of form, which has seen them drop out of the top six.

It’s hardly terminal, that said. They can jump back in to the play-offs with victory over the Trotters, with the international break looking to have arrived at a decent juncture for Lee Grant's side, who have won just once in their past four league matches.

A spate of unwelcome injuries haven't exactly helped their cause either.

But it still remains early days amid a League One landscape where the signs are that no-one will run away with things at the top, as has been the case in the past few seasons.

Nicholls added: "It is still a new squad and I think we still got off to a really good start.

"I think there are games in there we'd like to have back and actions that have probably killed us in certain games and then we haven't reacted in the right way.

"The gaffer is quite good at addressing them and challenging us.

"It's up to us to learn from it and build on it and become a better team because of it."