Huddersfield Town head coach Martin Drury on why outside noise must not 'suffocate' League One club any more

In all honesty, it's been a good while since Terriers supporters have had smiles on their faces. Certainly a couple of seasons or so.

Until now. The wait is over. It's actually fun watching the team in 'bright blue and white' again.

Becoming a 'team of renown' and 'the talk of the town', in the words of the song, remains some way off yet. But at least, the signs are promising.

And what about the growing sense of expectation heightened by their latest win, a 4-1 victory over Peterborough at a happy Accu Stadium?

Well, with the best will in the world, Martin Drury is not paying any attention to it and neither are his players.

Despite Tuesday's success, which reinforced the fact that Town - who moved back up to second in League One - possess two box-office players at third-tier level in Joe Taylor and Derensili Sanches Fernandes, Drury and his players weren't particularly happy.

Town's young head coach labelled the game as 'chaotic' and said he didn't enjoy it.

He even spoke of the dressing room being 'flat' afterwards - three days on from Huddersfield hitting the heights with one of the best performances from any League One side this season against Plymouth Argyle.

While fans are lapping things up at the minute - Town scored three goals in 13 second-half minutes against Posh - Drury and co are critically governed by their own expectation levels, first and foremost.

They are naturally pleased their followers are feeling good. But they remain accountable to themselves and won't pay any attention to outside noise.

Drury said: "My honest opinion is that this club over the last few years has focused too much on external expectation and not on internal expectation and standards and levels.

"That can suffocate you when you're thinking about what's happening outside.

"Right now, we have high standards. The players have high standards. They were disappointed after the game. That tells you a lot about them.

"And it tells you a lot about them as a group regarding where they're at."

For the second midweek home game this season, a quick-fire double from Taylor in the second half took the game away from an opponent.

The game was also notable for Ilias Bronkhorst, one half of Town's delightful Dutch axis down the right-hand side, securing some bouquets following his maiden goal for the club.

Despite a relatively quiet night, the other half in 'Golden Boy' Fernandes announced himself late on with a delicious assist for the hosts' fourth goal, which saw the rejuvenated Bali Mumba score for the first time on home soil.

For Drury, the significance of Marcus Harness's strong, game-changing bench cameo was not lost upon him. He came off shortly before Town's second goal.

The senior midfielder had a day to forget in the previous home game with Sheffield Wednesday, when his reckless challenge in the box on Liam Cooper was penalised at the death.

It was his second successive substitute appearance after reverting to the bench for the game at former club Burton on October 3.

Drury commented: "I thought on Saturday and against Peterborough, he was (good). His work rate out of possession on Saturday was excellent.

"Socially with the other lads, with the way he talked to them, the communication on the pitch on Saturday was also excellent.

"He's been disappointed and frustrated. I think not just because he's not starting, but because he holds himself to high standards.

"He's obviously had a great career and he's a top player. I've got the utmost respect for Marcus. Let's not forget, early on in the season I asked Marcus to play deep central midfield deep. Then I asked him to play as a 'ten' and then play off the left.

"The work he's done for us so far, I respect a hell of a lot. He's had a couple of games out. I don't think it's the end of the world for him.

"I thought he's come on and contributed really well in the last two games. His delivery for Joe's (second) goal is ridiculous quality."

Striker Bojan Radulovic missed the game as a precaution due to a slight hamstring issue.

Drury continued: "If you look at his history, the injuries that he's sustained have generally been from a Saturday, Tuesday, Saturday, Tuesday (schedule). So we have to be careful. It's too important to us to risk.

"Hopefully over the next few days, he recovers well and it settles down and we'll have a look at him towards the weekend."