Inside the mind of Huddersfield Town skipper Peter Clarke

Oct 17 2009 by Dougie Thomson, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

WHAT a difference five days make!

Rewind to Chesterfield, and Peter Clarke cut a frustrated figure as he watched Town tumble out of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy from the Saltergate stand.

Fast forward to Exeter City and the club captain was in his element as Lee Clark’s side finally ended their barren run.

The thumping 4-0 Galpharm win over the Grecians was Town’s first success in seven, and the 27-year-old, back from the one-match ban which followed his red card at Colchester United, certainly enjoyed the afternoon.

“That performance certainly put a brighter complexion on things,” said the summer signing from Southend United ahead of today’s capital test as League I pacesetters Charlton Athletic.

“It was great to get back to winning ways with a few goals and a clean sheet, and now we have to go forward with another positive display.”

An experienced professional who has also served Everton, where he came through the youth ranks, and Blackpool, Southport-born former England Under 21 international Clarke, had been through winless runs before.

“It’s part and parcel of football, and how you react to setbacks is very important,” he explained.

“It’s an old cliche, but a true one. You have to stick together as a team, keep working hard on the training ground, try to pinpoint where things are going wrong and do something about it and ensure you do the basics of the game as well as you possibly can.

“Even though we weren’t getting the results we would have wanted, I knew we weren’t that far away in terms of performances, because apart from Millwall, we weren’t getting battered.

“I was always confident we would turn the corner, but it’s crucial to remember it’s only a start. We have to build from the Exeter win.”

Clarke’s sending off in the 1-0 defeat at Colchester ruined his hopes of playing in every Town match this season.

And the dismissal for two bookable offences still rankles.