Nevertheless, embattled Huddersfield Town head coach Mark Fotheringham knows full well that donning the combat fatigues and circling the wagons is what is all about for him and his increasingly besieged Terriers side at a critical juncture.

Propping up the Championship for the festive season, Town find themselves seven points adrift of fourth-from-bottom Hull City, albeit with a game in hand.

They are threatening to become this season's version of Barnsley, who swapped a glorious play-off charge in 2020-21 for a desperate and ultimately unsuccessful relegation fight last season.

Like the Reds’ class of 2021-22, Huddersfield are toiling in one obvious regard. Goals. They must find more to avoid the fate of their Yorkshire rivals.Town have failed to score in five of their past six matches. Their predicament is grim at the season's halfway point - with the sense of uncertainty behind the scenes hardly helping matters – but it's not yet terminal either.

Supporters are understandably perturbed at developments on the pitch and off it.

For Fotheringham and his players, they are entitled to feel that all they have at the minute is each other in some respects. It presently has a feeling of ‘us against the world’ as they prepare for 24 battles between now and May 6.

Anyone who listens to Fotheringham should be under no illusions that he is a fighter. His players must be as well.

He said: "You have got to create that siege mentality within the group. They are a good group who work so hard in training. When you discuss things afterwards with their views, they are so open and honest and show a real honesty.

“I know it is a long season. There’s half a season to go. If we could win games in the period with the injury list, who will happen when everyone is back fit. We are going to win games.

“We come off the back of winning at QPR and then a good strong draw against a Swansea team who are a good footballing team in the league. We could have won.

"We have had two disappointing results against two teams in the top four. Now we are about to play the teams around and about us. The business end of the season."

Positives have been thin on the ground of late. Fotheringham has to scramble around for any, otherwise what is the point.

In terms of structure, shape and competitiveness, his side have been 'in' most games since his arrival at least. Finding a cutting edge is the big issue.

Despite regular disruption in terms of personnel, Town have yet to take a hammering - a classic sign of a side nailed on for relegation.

They are fighting and scrapping at the very least. But must somehow find more to save themselves.

He continued: “Huddersfield had a great season last year, but if you look at the first period when Carlos Corberan came in, there were a few results there. 7-0 at Norwich and 5-2 at Blackburn, Bournemouth was a 'tragic' result as well (Town lost 5-0 in 2020-21).

"We have not had any result like that. Every game has been competitive and I never had the Lewis O’Brien or (Harry) Toffolo’s in my team.“I have got guys who are developing as young players who are improving as we go. That’s where we are as a club at the moment.

“I am happy with them and satisfied, but need to turn the performances and improvement into wins. That’s the main thing. I don’t mind if we win ugly, I just want to get the wins."

Creditably, Fotheringham is not bemoaning his lot and insists he is the broad shoulders to take any flak.

Clearly, there are wider issues prevalent at the club other than just the ninety-plus minutes on a match-day. For some understandably irked Town supporters, the Scot is viewed as a convenient scapegoat. It might be a touch unfair, but neither is he complaining.

You certainly won't find him hiding in the dug-out either. He is willing to front up and take any flak that is going. His experiences under pressure at Bundeliga outfit Hertha Berlin have prepared him for that.

Fotheringham, whose Town side today face their first of two trips to Deepdale in league and cup in the space of under a fortnight, said: “I know that. It’s the nature of the beast and that’s why I came into this job and have faced it head on.

“You can all see I have got broad shoulders. I kick every ball on the sidelines and play with a real passion.“(Slaven) Bilic commented upon that after the (Watford) game and said: ‘Listen, you have got a massive presence there and you were seriously annoying me in the first half because your team performed really well.

“When you go through that team and look through the personnel compared to what we’d got, we dominated them.

“But it probably deflated the fanbase at the weekend as we played so well and then took a sucker-punch.

"Fans have every right to vent their frustrations as they know this team is capable of winning more games than we have. I can promise that we will win more games.

"I have been in a stadium with 75 to 80,000 were demanding we win games. There could not have been many better situations to prepare me for this."

Last six games: Preston WWWLWL; Huddersfield LLWDLL.Referee: G Eltringham (Tyne and Wear)Last time: Preston 0 Huddersfield 0; February 9, 2022; Championship.

Preston v Huddersfield Town: Mark Fotheringham on war footing as Town get battle-hardened