Wycombe Wanderers v Huddersfield Town: Lee Grant seeks to change narrative as Michael Duff has his own incentive
HUDDERSFIELD Town's trip to Adams Park at the start of 2025 proved a watershed moment in their 2024-25 season - and not for the right reasons.
Town, led by Michael Duff, triumphed 1-0 at high-flying rivals Wycombe to firmly propel themselves into automatic promotion contention.
It went downhill from there. The Terriers won just five of their remaining 22 league games in a pitiful run which accounted for Duff and saw the club end in a mediocre tenth place.
Ahead of their latest appointment in Buckinghamshire - and a reunion with Duff - they are hardly much better off in eighth spot following a run of one win in their last seven outings in all competitions.
Duff's permanent successor in Lee Grant needs something to change the season's narrative or else the pressure will intensify upon him.
Grant, whose side lost out in excruciating fashion last time out against Bolton, said: "Every week's massive for your season.
"The week we've just had was massive, but can be massive for our season in other ways in terms of galvanising and understanding and learning.
"We go into tough fixtures, but good fixtures that the team should relish. The team have been built to compete, so come on, let's have high expectations of ourselves in line with the expectation that we feel externally.
"There is no higher expectation than the expectation that I see in training of the group when they walk out onto the training pitch and are going after it, hammer and tongs."
While Grant will hopefully see a team fully determined to right the wrongs of Bolton, their opponents are sure to be fired up and just as players want to do well against old clubs - Town defender Joe Low being a case in point - so do managers.
Speaking earlier this week, Duff said he and his staff felt ‘harshly done by’ following their sacking after just 10 months, but still retains fond memories of his time at Town.
Winger Mickel Miller said: "It (Saturday) will mean a bit more with him obviously being here and (it) not working out. We know he wants to probably make sure his boys are up for that."