Huddersfield Town v Preston North End: Chastened Terriers out to make amends - Sorba Thomas

The former Boreham Wood winger, who started his career in West Ham’s academy, is driven in his quest to make the most of his second chance in league football and prove any doubters wrong.

His experiences have taught him as much and quickly convey that fact.

After a grim start to their Championship home campaign on Saturday when Town were thrashed 5-1 by Fulham, Thomas and his team-mates – not to mention head coach Carlos Corberan – must answer some searching questions and handle a key early-season character test.

As someone who has experienced working life away from the game – including a brief spell in the scaffolding industry – and earned his stripes in the tough non-league world, pressure is all relative to this determined young professional.

Thomas, 22, said: “Coming into this season, I felt I had a point to prove because some people might feel: ‘he is not going to be good enough, he might need a loan.’

“But for me, it is all about coming back stronger and proving the doubters wrong.

“I am getting closer to where I see myself. Coming here is a dream come true.”

On his path to the professional realm, he added: “As a young boy, I loved my trainers and clothes and I worked for a year in retail in central London.

“I also worked in scaffolding as well. In non-league, people are not paid in the way that Premier League players are paid, so you still have to get another job and in my last two years at Boreham Wood, I did some coaching. It all helped me grow mentally.”

The quick turnaround from Saturday means that Town at least have an instant chance of getting back onside tonight with fans, justifiably underwhelmed on their return to the John Smith Stadium after almost 18 months.

Good news sees the return to the fray of midfielder Lewis O’Brien, now recovered after testing positive for Covid-19.

The physical condition of O’Brien, a transfer target for Leeds United, will be assessed to determine how long he can potentially feature.

On providing a response after the big disappointment of Saturday, Thomas, who has shown promise in the opening few weeks of the campaign, said: “We have got to park it and put things right. The homecoming did not go to plan and as players, we know we let the fans down.

“We don’t want that to happen again. There is no point dwelling on the Fulham game any more and we need to show them (fans) what we can really bring.

“Everyone is buzzing that the game has come as quick as it has. We need to stick together as a whole unit, the fans as well.

“Some people can say it is the best time to play Huddersfield after a 5-1 defeat. But that defeat has made us a bit more hungry. We did not come in (on Monday) feeling sorry for ourselves.”

Despite O’Brien being available, a number of players such as Pipa, Harry Toffolo, Tom Lees, Josh Ruffels and Rolando Aarons will again be missing, with selection issues having bedevilled Corberan during his time at the club.

Admirably, the Spaniard is not looking for any excuses.

He said: “I have a lot of trust in the squad this year. This year, we have more options to play. Even if you count the number of players (unavailable against Fulham), you still have one very competitive group of players.

“So for me, this is one of the things that make me feel optimistic in the possibilities we are going to have.”

Last six games: Huddersfield LDDDDL; Preston WWWLWL.

Referee: J Linington (Isle of Wight).

Last time: Huddersfield 1 Preston 2, October 24, 2020; Championship.