FUTURES are on the line as Town bid to wrap up this pre-centenary season on a positive note.

Mar 8 2008 by Mel Booth, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

That’s the view of midfielder Michael Collins, who was crestfallen after Tuesday’s 3-2 defeat to nine-man Swindon at the County Ground.

Collins insists Town won’t give up on the League I play-off chase until the mathematics say it can’t be done.

And he believes there’s much to play for as individuals and as a squad between now and May.

Collins, who will be 22 next month, is contracted at the Galpharm until 2010, along with Nathan Clarke, Phil Jevons and Robbie Williams.

But he is well aware that 15 of Andy Ritchie’s senior squad (not counting Danny Schofield, who has already said he wants to leave) are out of contract this summer and feels that can only be good and players battle to prove their worth.

“All our futures are on the line, not just those who are fighting for new contracts,” said Collins, who was brought down for the first of Jevons’ two penalties in what was a fourth league defeat in five.

“The gaffer will be looking to bring people in during the summer and so, between now and the end of the season, we’ve all got to make sure we get a foothold.

“It’s up to each of us to make sure we are not one of the players who has to make way because that’s what can happen in football – you’ve got to watch your back.

“It’s time now that we all grow up and accept we have to dig in more and grind out results.

“For a club and a team like we are, it’s not acceptable to be dropping as many points as we are.”

Town’s current form and league placing is a far cry from what Collins, his colleagues and many of the supporters expected when Ritchie led the club into his first full season as manager back in August.

While Collins has been delighted with the FA Cup run (and his goal at Chelsea!) he’s not at all pleased with Town’s lower mid-table slot, their distance from the top six and the possible flirtation with the relegation placings unless form improves.

“At the start of the season we were very optimistic,” he said.

“We got off to a great start, but we haven’t found consistency all season – and that’s the key thing.

“When you look at the table, I think we are better than some of those clubs at the top in terms of the individuals we’ve got in our squad.

“But they are more consistent and that’s why they are so much higher in the standings. Consistency is what this league is all about.

“You only have to look at Scunthorpe last season. Everyone was knocking them, but they churned out the results and they went up.

“If we are going to follow suit we have to find more consistency, simple as that. We have been striving to do that but, unfortunately, at the moment we don’t seem to be able to achieve it.

“There’s still time, though, and once everything clicks together, hopefully things will come good for us.”

Collins admits the defeats this week to Swansea and Swindon have hurt and he’s pinning hopes on bouncing back at Leyton Orient today.

“We were determined to come back from Swindon with a win, but we couldn’t have got off to a worse start,” said Collins, who caused the home side plenty of problems with his well-timed runs from deep.

“As a team we were sloppy and I’ve got to hold my hands up and accept some responsibility for the first goal. I played it short to Malvin Kamara when I should probably have turned them, so I have to say I’m disappointed with myself for that.

“I know it sounds stupid, but after we conceded the third goal we seemed to come out of our shells and really start playing. Even when we were 3-0 down I still thought we were the better team, so it was a shock situation to be in.

“Any team is going to struggle to come back from three down, and even though they had two men sent-off in the closing stages, it was still hard work because Swindon were backs to the wall and just seemed to be clearing the ball downfield. It’s bitterly disappointing because it’s put a massive dint in our play-off ambitions, but all we can do now, though, is pick ourselves up, dust ourselves down and crack on.

“The gaffer has stressed that if we get on a run, you never know what might happen, so we’ve got to dig our heels in, make sure we all fight for the cause and pick up as many points as we can.

“If we can pick up three or four wins on the trot, starting straight away, then the picture will look a whole lot more rosy.

“We’ve just got to keep plugging away and show the characters that we are. We have to fight for the shirt, fight for the club and fight for the fans. We have to get back to grinding out good results.”