Huddersfield Town learning to handle expectancy as Michael Duff proclaims 'we are a big club in this league'

Both sides had seen their form meander in the early stages of the campaign, yet both the Terriers and the Grecians had done enough to place themselves among the promotion chasers.

However, games do not always live up to their billing.

Huddersfield held up their end of the bargain, looking comfortable from the get-go as they cruised to a 2-0 win.

They did not dazzle with scintillating football, but their ventures forward were forceful enough to draw blood.

Exeter, meanwhile, never managed to lay siege. Their defence, with its stellar reputation, looked vulnerable.

“I thought we were good value for the win,” Terriers boss Michael Duff said. “I thought it was relatively comfortable against a good team.

“They’ve just kept five clean sheets in a row, they’re a possession-based team, their xG in the first half was zero. It’s very rare that happens.”

In a game that could not be described as particularly easy on the eye, it was perhaps fitting the deadlock was broken in straightforward fashion. Ben Wiles stuck a corner delivery on to the penalty spot, where Matty Pearson was waiting to climb above the huddle and head home.

Wiles struck the second from around 30 yards out, injecting the game with some much-needed, albeit fleeting, pizzazz.

The offside flag denied Huddersfield an extra two goals, one of which Duff felt should not have been chalked off.

“I’ve not seen the second one but the first offside goal was onside,” he said. “He’s timed his run perfectly. That would’ve been a really good goal. We didn’t blow them away, it wasn’t a rip-roaring performance, but I thought it was a comfortable win.”

With relegation comes a forced change in mentality. No longer are certain runs of form acceptable. The level of tolerance for shoddiness plummets, with the relegated side now a big fish in a smaller pond.

Huddersfield were minnows last season, so much so a run of four straight defeats would have failed to raise too many eyebrows beyond the HD postcode.

As the Terriers discovered when they embarked on such a run last month, the scrutiny is now greater.

“We’ve talked about this mentality and this expectancy,” Duff said. “It’s about having to deal with that expectancy, the same as next week in the FA Cup.

“Dealing with the pressure of ‘we’ve got to win’. We are a big club in this league. We’ve won quite a few home games in a row and we want to keep doing it.”

There were significant stretches of the game during which Huddersfield looked comfortable without threatening. Much of their possession served the function of retaining control, rather than progressing forward.

While expectations regarding Huddersfield’s results may have changed, understanding of the EFL has not.

League One, much like the Championship, can be an ugly and often unpredictable place. Regular defeats will spark backlash, but there was understanding in the stands of why winning without flair is necessary.

“It’s doing what the game’s telling you, ultimately,” Duff said. “Some teams will come and press us – you’ve got to work it out. It’s trying to give them the solutions, and then they go on the pitch and have to make the right decisions.

“The decision-making has been much better, but the adversity has been the main thing. When we’ve had something not go our way, their reaction has been miles better.”

Managers will often claim mistakes can be forgiven but a lack of effort cannot be. Duff did exactly that as he reflected on the win over Exeter.

Even at this early stage in the season, Huddersfield have seen their mental strength tested and have passed simply by managing to come out the other side.

Superlatives did not spring to mind – but phrases like “work rate” and “professionalism” certainly did.

Huddersfield Town: Chapman, Spencer, Pearson, Lees, Lonwijk, Miller; Kasumu, Kane (Evans 81), Wiles (Hogg 80); Ward (Healey 68), Marshall (Ladapo 89).

Unused substitutes: Maxwell, Headley, Turton.

Exeter City: Whitworth, McMillan, Crama, Sweeney, Purrington; Woods (Cole 85), Doyle (Francis 69); Alli (Cox 69), Aitchison (Bird 80), Niskanen (Carayol 80); Magennis.

Unused substitutes: McDonald, Fitzwater.

Referee: Elliot Bell (Merseyside)