Town still have long 
way to go, says Robins

Tuesday night’s gritty 1-0 win at Burnley followed on from a dour goalless draw at home to Ipswich Town and means the Terriers head to in-form Brighton & Hove Albion sitting 18th in the Championship.

Considering Town had gone into the Ipswich game just one place above the relegation zone, the past week can only be judged as a positive one for the club.

Mark Robins is well aware of that but the Huddersfield manager is also keen to stress that there is still “a long way to go” until his new charges can be considered to have reached the standards he demands.

He said: “We have had two clean sheets and there have been a lot of positives during the last week.

“We still have got a long way to go because it isn’t brilliant to watch at the moment. But, in fairness, the players are giving everything that they have got.

“The clean sheets have pleased me the most because we have – when you look at the statistics – the worst defensive record in the league.

“No-one is proud of that statistic and we all want to improve it. It isn’t just up to the defenders and the goalkeeper. Everyone on the pitch has a role to play to try and keep the ball out of the net.

“If we continue to do what we did against Burnley, then we will be a lot more solid.”

Town, who before the midweek shut-out of Burnley at Turf Moor had conceded 19 goals in their last four away games, face a tough assignment today against Brighton & Hove Albion.

Gus Poyet’s men have taken 10 points from their last four games to move above Middlesbrough and into the final play-off place.

Robins said: “We are looking to cause Brighton one or two problems and I believe we can do. It will be my first visit to the Amex Stadium and it looks like a fantastic place.

“I am also looking forward to pitting my wits against a manager who is well regarded and who has got his team playing attractive football.

“He (Poyet) has got some very good players in his team who are very technically gifted. We can’t be overawed. Instead, we need to go down there and give a good account of ourselves. We will do that.”

Jermaine Beckford is again missing today with a hamstring injury but there has been positive news regarding a possible return date for the on-loan Leicester City striker.

Huddersfield chief Robins said: “Jermaine is in good spirits, but he is needed on the pitch and I think he is maybe a couple of weeks away from being back with us.

“We want to get him back as quickly as possible. Danny Ward has been running on the training pitch so, hopefully, he will be able to join in with us soon as well.”

Oscar Gobern is fit despite suffering a clash of heads with James Vaughan at Turf Moor in midweek.