No time for 'crying', but 'fighting' insists Huddersfield Town stand-in captain after painful Preston North End loss rocks Terriers' Championship survival hopes

Deepdale has rarely been a happy hunting ground for Town over the decades and Tuesday proved a wretched case in point as they were on the receiving end of a late hat-trick from substitute Milutin Osmajic en route to a stinging 4-1 loss.

After the highs of Saturday’s last-gasp win over relegation rivals Millwall, Andre Breitenreiter’s side suffered towards the end of a game three days on as the Montenegrin striker scored three times in the space of eight minutes.

Helik, involved in his third successive survival battle - having been part of Town’s ‘Great Escape’ last term and a member of the Barnsley side who went down from the second tier in 2021-22 - admitted he was 'fuming' at events on Tuesday night.

But when the dust now settling, it’s about drawing a line under events and moving on.

The Polish centre-half said: "I think how we played in the second half is unacceptable at the moment and we were so disappointed and didn’t deserve a point. It was a terrible second half.

"After the first half, we had everything under control and were in a good position and then everything just turned away and that never should happen.

"In the first half, there were a lot of positive things, but that does not matter as we absolutely lost it in the second half.

"There is no time for crying, it’s time for fighting and showing a quick answer and response."

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Helik’s dismay was shared by Breitenreiter after watching his side produce a good first-half performance which saw them take the lead, only for the game to turn after Alex Matos fouled Will Keane and the North End striker levelled from the spot.

The hosts took over at a venue where Town have now won just once in 22 visits since November 1969.

Breitenreiter, whose side head to Bristol City on Saturday, commented: "After 1-1, there were too many ball losses, we didn't play as a team, we had bad body language. It was a different game and it was not acceptable for me.”