Huddersfield Town v Bury: Clark is banking on Rhodes to deliver

The Terriers have been busy in the transfer market with Bournemouth’s Anton Robinson this week having become the eighth player to move to the Galpharm Stadium.

None of the new additions, however, have been strikers, which has come as something of a surprise considering Arsenal loanee Benik Afobe ended last season as Huddersfield’s first-choice frontman.

Clark said: “I have got one of the best strikers in the League at my disposable in Jordan Rhodes, which was proven during the summer as he was linked with a lot of clubs in the division above.

“I had a good conversation with Jordan over the summer regarding the end to last season and, as he always does, he took it on board and worked to improve on some areas. He has been in brilliant form during the friendlies and looked very sharp in training.

“Lee Novak has had a full pre-season compared to last year when he had about eight days. It didn’t help Lee’s season, he was very stop-start, and hopefully he will be able to replicate his goal-scoring from his first season when he notched 14 goals.

“In Alan Lee and Danny Cadamarteri, we have two experienced strikers who bring different attributes to the team. Alan is very strong and enjoys the physical side of the game, which helps take some of the workload off his strike partner whereas Danny has explosive pace and power.”

Town have no injury concerns going into today’s visit of Bury, meaning almost half of his 30-man squad – a number Clark knows has to be reduced – will be left kicking their heels in the stand.

The Terriers chief said: “My mind at the moment is not on signing players, it is focused on trimming the squad to a workable level. We have too many players; the ones that are not involved need to move on and play football.

“Some of the players need to move on to help further their careers and improve their CVs. I am trying to help them as much as possible to find new clubs, but ultimately it is up to them and their agents to find first-team football.

“We are also considering sending some of the youngsters out on loan to help bring the numbers down. I have received positive feedback from Cheltenham and Darlington regarding Jimmy Spencer and Chris Atkinson, who have both settled in very well at their new clubs. I want to get more of the youngsters out there, playing competitive football where winning matters.”