Huddersfield Town v Peterborough United: Martin Drury on how Terriers are making squad depth count

The Terriers had seven players out injured at Plymouth Argyle, but centre-backs Joe Low and Sean Roughan impressed in their first league starts of 2026-27.

Coach Drury said their performances were as much a tribute to their team ethic as fitness, and will be hoping for more chances to gauge that on Tuesday.

"I was really pleased for them because they're really good people and I know how hard they've been working," said Drury, who revealed midfielders Ryan Ledson and David Kasumu are "really close" to returns.

"Sean's been out injured so he's been really frustrated and really looking forward to getting back on the grass. He's had to be patient in terms of the team selection. Joe Low has been slightly different in terms of not being injured but other players in his position performing really well. He's had a couple of down days.

"But I have so much respect for him, for Sean, and for anyone else who's not in the team.

"I like to think although they're not happy with the minutes they're getting they're respectful of us and the work that's going on.”

Crucially, they were ready when called upon.

"It's really important they're still practicing the actions they need in a game and it's not just based on load and hitting numbers to keep them fit,” argued Drury. “That's not match-fitness, that's a baseline.

"The moments Joe and Sean had to be good in the game, when you're out of rhythm and gametime sometimes if you're not training those things can not quite be there."

Home games against Posh and Wigan Athletic are a new challenge.

"Their performance didn't surprise me because of how well they trained,” insisted Drury. “The test will be Tuesday and Saturday.

"Hopefully in the coming weeks we'll be able to get players back to go Saturday-Tuesday. I'm blessed to have really good staff in the medical department and performance staff.

"I try to push the boundaries but they guide us and make sure we're not overloading players or under-cooking them."

In terms of measuring players mentally, Drury pays particular attention to goal celebrations.

"When you see joy on people's faces and how they interact with each other it probably tells you where people are at," he commented.

"Joe Taylor on Saturday didn't go straight to the celebration after the second goal. He was probably shattered from all the running he did and it took him a few seconds but two or three players went to him.

"There's a nice moment when you look away from the ball and the goal and you see other players and what their body language looks like when other people are scoring.

"It says a lot about your culture.

"After the game was really telling as well as the players celebrated with the fans in the corner.

"I'm not expecting everyone who's not playing to come in with a big smile every day and bounce through the door because I know they've got frustrations.

"But there's a level of control they have to have to channel their frustration. That's what we have."