Town’s desire to avoid the drop is crucial, says Clarke

Town were challenged by manager Mark Robins to display some mental toughness in their Championship survival fight after showing a soft underbelly, particularly away from home this calendar year.

His determined players answered his call in emphatic style during a richly-deserved comeback victory over play-off aspirants Middlesbrough.

Many of the plaudits were reserved for late goalscorers Alan Lee and Danny Ward in the dramatic 2-1 win, which saw Town hit back after trailing 1-0 going into the last five minutes.

Ward fully lifted the gloom at a foggy John Smith’s Stadium with a cracking stoppage-time winner from distance. The winger, out since Boxing Day with a broken metatarsal, went on a solo run from Jack Hunt’s pass and then lashed in a low drive.

But Robins earmarked special praise for redoubtable captain Clarke, who ignored pain for the greater gain.

Clarke sustained a broken nose in the lead-up to Lee’s scrambled equaliser with his first touch of the ball, but it is nothing like as sore as he would have felt had Town not salvaged something from a night when they produced their best display so far on Robins’s watch.

The performance – which saw Town come from behind to triumph in a Championship game for the first time this season – was all the more laudable given that they were without a number of key players, including suspended top-scorer James Vaughan, who also sits out Saturday’s home clash with Charlton Athletic.

And Clarke is now calling on Town – who moved up three places to 16th place and are six points above the drop zone with 10 games to go – to show similar resolve between now and the end of the season.

If they do that, the 31-year-old is confident they will win their survival battle.

He said: “If you have that will to battle for each other, whether you are at the top, middle or bottom, it will take you a long way.

“The fact we were in a losing position and turned it around to win the game shows the group of lads have a good mentality.

“We did not go under and kept going and, when you do that, you always have a chance.

“It has been said that it is okay having skill, but the will has to be bigger than the skill and I think we showed that against Middlesbrough.

“It might not have been necessarily pretty and ultimately we would like to be a side who plays nice football like Brighton.

“But at this moment in time and at this stage of the season, we have got to do whatever it takes to get results to make sure we are in this division next season.

“The lads showed a desire and determination to work hard and not be beaten.

“If we can keep that up between now and the end of the season, there is no reason why we cannot go onwards and upwards.”