Jon Stead wants Huddersfield Town to make their depth count in League One play-off chase

The Terriers spent heavily last summer on arguably the third tier's deepest squad, yet began Easter four points and four places adrift of the top six.

A winless start to Stead and Martin Drury's stint in temporary control could have ended their hopes altogether but Lasse Sorensen's 96th-minute equaliser at home to Reading and Ryan Ledson's 107th-minute winner at Leyton Orient – from fellow substitute Anthony Evans' ball in – kept them alive.

Huddersfield were without the injured Alfie May, Jack Whatmough and Cameron Ashia at Brisbane Road on Monday, and lost Josh Feeney in the warm-up. They still used six outfield substitutes when a suspected concussion for one, George Sebine, allowed another.

It proved a point the makeshift management team were only too happy to ram home.

"Lads might be on the bench but they're coming on the pitch and they're making a difference and that's what we need," stressed Stead, stepping up with head coach Liam Manning on compassionate leave. "We need that togetherness.

"I'm delighted for the players because of the work that they've been putting in, especially in the last couple of weeks, it's been excellent. But they want to win. They are winners.

"They want this club to do well so we need to give them the best opportunity.

"We've got an array of very talented footballers. It's about getting them in positions they're comfortable with and trying to get little cohesions and little patterns working well. It's trying to figure that out as quickly as you can with an ever-changing environment.

"So much happened on Monday that it's real fluid and you have to be adaptable.

"We've got a lot of good talent. We need to find the best pieces."

Stead also pointed to the attitude of the players as another strength Huddersfield will have in their five remaining games.

They were set back by Radinio Balker’s own goal on Monday, then Sebine's injury after Bojan Radulovic equalised. They looked to have missed their chance when Murray Wallace volleyed against the crossbar in the 16th added minute.

"There's going to be frustration, I understand that," said Stead. "But what they did really well was get their heads down and get refocused.

"We score a good equaliser then I don't think I've ever seen two huge chances so close together in the dying minute of a game where Muzza (Wallace) hits the crossbar and you think, 'Might it not be the day?'

"I probably felt that a little bit on the side, but they didn't. They went, 'Nah, we're not done yet.'

"As soon as 14 minutes goes up (as the minimum amount of time to be added), it gives them a little bit of a boost, a lift – 'Why not?'

"We really took the game to the opposition.

"It was a bit harem scarem towards the end, a bit basketball, end to end, but you're going to get that with two teams wanting to win."