Jonathan Hogg: We are fighting for everyone's futures at Huddersfield Town & not just the players

Speaking ahead of Huddersfield Town's play-off final last May, the Terriers captain, nicknamed 'The General', reflected on several battles - good and bad - at opposite ends of tables during his epic time in Yorkshire and succinctly said: 'That’s what this club is all about. Fighting.”

Town's players are not just fighting for themselves and their team-mates in 2022-23, but supporters, hurting badly following a grim campaign as painful as it was unexpected and those unsung heroes who work away from the public eye at the club, but whose fortunes are linked with results on the pitch.

The cost of relegation to League One is likely be in the region of £7m. It would have consequences for many and not just players.

Hogg said: "There's a lot of people involved. It is not just the players and the fans.

"People work tirelessly behind the scenes to make sure they keep their jobs. If we go down, who knows what happens. It is not just the players we are fighting for and our contracts and so on.

"It's the people in the background, the cooks, the cleaners and all people like that. It affects their life. We are not just playing for us, we are playing for hundreds of people and thousands of fans."

For Hogg, there is the matter of personal pride. This summer marks the tenth anniversary of him joining the club. The last thing he wants is for Town to be a third-tier club when that milestone arrives.

Their current position is precarious, but it's nothing new to Hogg.

He is a veteran of several previous relegation fights, which have nearly all been won. Town's joyous survival in the Premier League in 2017-18 was arguably as sweet as promotion in 2016-17 - there have also been other end-of-season moments to savour too. Hopefully there's another.

Hogg added: "I had a conversation last week and was saying that after the season last year, it's going to be a good two or three seasons before we are fighting relegation and stuff and let's keep fighting for promotion...

"All of a sudden, we are fighting against relegation again. It's entertaining at the Terriers... You are either fighting for promotion or relegation. There's a prize at the end of it (this season), all right. From where we have been and what has happened with the ups and downs, staying in the league is a big enough prize for me and probably most of the other lads in the dressing room and the club.”

Hogg is the sort who will never down tools, for sure. He has earned things the hard way in a career which saw him rejected by hometown club Middlesbrough for being too small and then be written off after rupturing knee ligaments as a young professional at Aston Villa.

Should people write off Town's prospects now, that suits him fine.

Hogg said: "I'd rather be fighting and knowing that every game means something than playing in mid-table. We know every win now is so important for us and we have 17 cup finals left.

"Number one, we have to stick together. Since I have been here, we have been a family for ten years. You can't just fall out because you are not having a good time. You have to pull through it.

"When we get safe, we can always look at each other and think: 'I gave everything to the cause.'

"It (relegation) is the last thing I want and the lads in the dressing room and the club wants. You see clubs in League One and it is a struggle to get back up. We will do everything in our power to make sure that doesn't happen."