Huddersfield Town v Bolton Wanderers: Lynden Gooch's experience a help during Terriers wobble

Having spent big in the summer and not been shy about their expectations for this season, the Terriers have won one of their last six matches, four of them in League One.

Given that victory at home to travel sick Bolton Wanderers on Thursday will put them fourth after a dozen games, it is hardly cause for panic, but October's international break still felt well-timed.

If they needed anyone to keep things in perspective, there are few better than 29-year-old Gooch.

“There were things we need to work on, things we need to do better,” he acknowledges.

“I wouldn't say (it was) trying anything new, just doing things better, doing things that the manager said for us from day one. In a couple of games, I think we'd all agree we probably let him down at certain points and with some of the results.

“We just need to stay calm. We're only 11 games into the season. People kind of overthink it sometimes.

“You just need to keep doing the basic things well in this league.

“For me, playing at the back, keeping clean sheets is important, to give our creative and forward players the best chance to win us the game.”

Home form was a problem in 2024-25 – only Mansfield Town and Burton Albion stayed in League One with more than their nine losses.

Defeat against Stockport County a week-and-a-half ago was Huddersfield's first at home this season, a sign they have coped well with a demanding fanbase, but also that they have not had to face some of the discombobulating factors they have come across on their travels.

“We've just been really calm at home,” reflects Gooch. “We've kept a lot of clean sheets and we've played well, scored a lot of goals.

“There's been games away from home where the gameplan's kind of gone out the window. Someone's gone down to 10 men and everything changes.

“We need to have a better way of dealing with those things, even against Stockport (when Tyler Onyango was red carded with his side leading the Terriers 1-0).

“We wanted to try and get back into the game but we also left ourselves open on the counter-attack, which ended up deciding the game. There's been a lot of games where it's not finished with 11 v 11.

“That's up to us as players to figure that out on the pitch. The gaffer can't influence everything.”

“The gaffer”, Lee Grant, believes Gooch's experience is crucial.

“There really is something important to be said about the expectation levels,” he says.

“Fans will have high expectations, I will, the owner will, the CEO will, people's mums, aunties and uncles will but there's no higher expectation than within the changing room.

“That's a good and bad thing.

“It's good for them to know they're a good team but it's about being at ease mentally with where we're at.

“Having senior players like Lynden is crucial for us.”

First-time manager Grant added to the expectation with his public demands for promotion, explaining: “If I over-thought everything to the nth degree I'd tie myself in knots so it's easier to say what I'm thinking.”

“You want expectation,” says Gooch. “If you want to play at the highest level and you want to play for big clubs, it comes with the territory. But you also have to be strong and just kind of block that out.

“You can't win a few games and think you're going to storm the league. That's just not how it works.

“You've got to just keep grinding out every day, keep standards high, and if you do things properly over a long period of time, you'll be fine.”

Gooch, though, does not like to force his experience on others.

“I try not to,” he says. “I like it when young lads ask their own questions.

“I'm not that type of person that's going to start talking about those things. But I can use all them experiences in different divisions with a big expectation to deliver success.”

Gooch was a centre-forward in academy football who has slipped further and further back ever since. He now sees himself as a right-back.

“Mentality is massive – not wanting to concede goals,” he says after two clean sheets in 10 games.

“That comes from within, it's not always just about structure or shape, it's about really wanting to put your body on the line, going that extra yard to win a tackle that you might not win and stuff like that.

“It's how we started the season. We'll get back to that, no problem.”

Referring to himself a defender is not setting anything in stone.

“All it takes is a knock, I suppose, and I might get moved around, but I'll play anywhere,” he says.

“I still think I can contribute high up the pitch, goals and assists, but for the last three or four years, I've been playing as a full-back. I've been brought in to play as a defender and I very much take pride in that.”

His mix of pride and experience could take Town a long way.