Huddersfield Town v Hull City: Fraizer Campbell happy to put team first at Terriers

The 34-year-old is enjoying being at a club where smiles are everywhere, conscious he does not have to be on the field to play his part and grateful for a career today’s visitors Hull City were important in shaping.

Centre-forwards are supposed to be selfish, but Campbell plays it cool when asked about his barren run.

“First of all I’ve got to have a shot on goal!” he jokes.

“I’ve never been bothered about goals as long as the team’s doing well. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to score goals but I’m sure that will come.”

It sounds like the sort of mature attitude that comes with experience.

“As a younger player I used to score all the time!” he quips. “As a youngster you want to impress and be the man but as I’m older I’m more of a team man.”

His coach Carlos Corberan sees him that way too and at a club trying to build a bigger squad and bring through youngsters, Campbell’s mindset is crucial.

“I can only have positive words for what Fraizer Campbell is doing for the club,” says Corberan.

“Even when he was 33 last season he played many, many minutes in a row.

“When at the end of the season he couldn’t play all those minutes he was an excellent professional,” he added.

One of Campbell’s most important off-field jobs at the moment is mickey-taking. Nine years ago he won his only England cap and now he sees it as everyone’s responsibility to stop Sorba Thomas getting too big for his boots after his first, impressive, outings for Wales.

“You’re delighted,” he says of the experience.

“It’s been a whirlwind of a week and you’re considered one of the best footballers from that country.

“We’re all going to wind him up, take the mick out of him and knock him down a peg or two but we’re extremely proud of him.

“I spoke to him a few times earlier in the year when he was getting a bit frustrated and told him to keep his head down because football changes quickly. He came back for pre-season super-fit and put himself in a really good position.”

Campbell’s jollity reflects the mood at his hometown club, seventh in a Championship table they spent his previous two seasons at the wrong end of.

“Everyone gets on really well,” he says. “No one’s above their station, everyone sticks to the fines and code of conduct.

“You get people sprinting down the corridors to get to meetings and cheering when they make it (on time) or when they don’t. There’s a real togetherness and it’s showing on the pitch.

“I’m a law-abiding citizen so I don’t get fines... and also I’m on the fines committee!

“We have court cases and Jonathan Hogg is the judge. If you turned up at court and Hoggy was there you’d just say, ‘Lock me up!’”

Hull must take some credit for this well-rounded individual having given Campbell his first regular senior English football, on loan from Manchester United in 2007-08.

He enjoyed it so much he came back for two more years in 2017.

“I went to Antwerp the season before and did really well, we got to the play-offs, but my first spell in the English leagues was vitally important to putting my name out there.

“People don’t really watch the Belgian league!

“It ended as a dream loan move.

“We were 16th or something when I first went there and ended up winning the play-off final at Wembley.

“Every time I’ve played in the Championship (since) I’ve wanted to be at the top.

“I hate losing. I think I still run around like an idiot because I never want to give up the dream of achieving something.”

This season?

“I’m hopeful,” he says. “I’m confident in my team-mates but we know there’s a long way to go and we can’t get above ourselves.

“If we keep picking up points like we are it should see us to somewhere near where we want to be.”

Imagine the smile on his face then.