Terriers urged by Hudson to plug leaky defence

Town head to Birmingham City this weekend in poor spirits after defeats to Rotherham, Brentford and Charlton.

The latest setback in their Yorkshire derby to the Millers capped a ‘horrendous week’ according to experienced captain and central defender Hudson, who admits that Town’s collective dropping of standards has not been good enough and that the side need to “man-up.”

All told, 16th-placed Town have won just once in their last seven outings, although weekend defeats for the relegation-haunted duo of Wigan and Millwall at least perserved their 11-point buffer above the drop zone with 10 games to go.

Town may look on course for a fourth season of Championship football, but finding some valuable momentum reminds people of a similar situation 12 months ago when Town, under the command of Mark Robins, flatlined and won just two of their last 13 fixtures and took just 10 points from a possible 39.

With many supporters yet to renew season tickets, the need for a positive end to the season for the club and avoidance of the scenario at the end of 2013-14 cannot be overstated either.

To get back on track, Town must first of all stop giving away soft goals, according to Hudson, mindful that he and his team-mates have shipped 62 Championship goals in 36 matches – the second-worst tally behind rock-bottom Blackpool.

Hudson said: “We’ve got to turn it around – quickly. We can win games; we’ve beaten some good teams already this season, but now we have to get back to basics and do things correctly.

“We’re not going to give up; I certainly won’t. We have got to put things right on the training field, look each other in the eye and be honest.

“We must hold our hands up when we don’t do things correctly and go from there.

“It has been a horrendous week for us, with three back-to-back losses. Now we have to stand up and be counted.

“We still have a long way to go with 10 games left against some hard teams and we have to step up. We need to worry about ourselves, not about other teams and what they’re going to do.

“It’s difficult for me to put my finger on why, but our standards slipped last week and that’s not good enough. We’re not working hard enough for each other.”