Huddersfield Town v Luton Town: Radinio Balker on 2026-27 Terriers spirit
Huddersfield Town v Luton Town In a squad as big as Huddersfield Town's, unity is essential. Having had his fair share of time on the sidelines as a Terrier, Radinio Balker thinks it is one of their strengths.
Saturday's 3-0 win at Bradford City was one of the rare occasions this season coach Martin Drury has left a fit player out of a winning team, but Dutch centre-back Balker justified his return, and will be hoping to hold onto his place at home to Luton Town on Tuesday.
If he does not, there will be no hard flings.
"If you're a team, you also need to cheer when someone else in your position is doing well," says Balker. "I tried to do that last season when I wasn't playing.
"We have 46 games plus cup games, so altogether probably 58 to 60. I won't be able to play 60 games, unfortunately.
"But if we have capable players in the same area at the same kind of level, then it's always good for the team because everybody profits from a team-mate being good and also going up in leagues.
An adductor injury to Balker opened the door to Joe Low to make his first League One start of the season at Plymouth Argyle and he did so well defensively that Balker returned alongside rather than instead of him. But on top of that, Low scored a spectacular overhead kick at Valley Parade on Saturday.
"I'm just really happy for him because it hasn't been the easiest for him the first few months," grins Balker. "Last season he was starting most of the games and then this season not starting from the beginning is quite difficult.
"I always said to him to keep working hard. I was in a similar situation last season where I wasn't playing in the beginning but I kept working hard. I told him to do the same.
"If you look at what he's done the last four games, it's been amazing. And then to score a goal like that, that's amazing."
To see the smile on the 28-year-old's face makes you believe it is more than just a professional footballer trotting out the lines he thinks he ought to.
It is a selflessness Drury made his top priority in his first summer as coach, when Balker received a one-year contract extension – "a show of faith," he says – despite being unable to consistently show his best form over two injury-hit seasons.
"It was top of the list," says Drury when asked how important that mindset was in assembling this season's squad.
"If you want to build a culture, it's not about the footballer, it's about the man. It's about the human being.
"Alongside that is being available to play. They're the first two, and then we'll look at things after that in terms of their qualities and what they can bring to us as footballers."
Being a good team-mate is something Balker is conscious of.
"It's very easy if everything is going well," he admits.
"When you're injured or when you come from a different team and you're not starting, it's very easy to forget about those players, but they are just as important.
"I've been there myself so that's why I try to help where I can.
"I wouldn't say last season or the season before was bad, necessarily, but this season there's a different camaraderie, I would say.
"Maybe the wins help, I don't know, but definitely at the moment, I think it feels like everybody wants to fight for each other.
"People are allowed to show that they're not happy as long as it's not affecting the thing they have to do on the ball."
With four wins out of four – the same as Huddersfield - Luton will test the table-toppers' Terrier spirit on Tuesday – and in a very different way to how Bradford tried to.
"They've been in a good form, just like us," says Balker. "Even last season, even though they weren't at their best they played really good football, difficult to play against.
"It's going to be a good game. We have to win because we're at home and we're confident we can do that.
"We all know that there are different styles of football (between Bradford and Luton).
"I think this season the big difference is that we're not really changing a lot in the sense of how we approach a game. We don't have to change formation or we don't have to change how we press.
"We have certain ways that we have to press that you don't have to think about. That really helps for us to be okay with changing from a bit more direct to a bit more football."
Whatever Huddersfield face on Tuesday, they will face it together.
"You need a new group of men that are humble, that are selfless, that are willing to work," says Drury. "I think the (coaching) staff sense right now that all the players are quite enjoying spending time together, both on and off the pitch.
"But look, it's really early days. Let's see if they enjoy each other's company in a couple of months' time, when we're in the midst of December and January."
At times in a tough few years for Town, that spirit has buckled. It will not if everyone thinks like Balker.