Nathan Clarke hails Alex Smithies as Huddersfield Town approach key matches

Nov 21 2009 by Dougie Thomson, Huddersfield Daily Examiner

Clarke, who was himself linked with a string of Premier League clubs as an emerging teenager, says Smithies is bound to attract the same kind of treatment.

“It’s par for the course, and we’ve always had scouts at our games because we have always had good young players who get their chance to impress,” he explained.

“But the club have said they don’t want to sell and they don’t need to sell, and that’s great to hear because I believe we can build a very good team around the emerging talent we have here.”

Looking to the immediate future, Clarke believes consistency is the key.

“Our goal rate has been brilliant, but the really important thing is that we keep picking up three points, whether it be 1-0 or 6-0,” he said.

“While we’ve had a couple of draws, our home form has been solid, and having had a tough time on the road earlier in the season, we picked up a really important win at Oldham, and that provided an injection of confidence.

“We’ll be going all out to build on it at Swindon, who are handily placed themselves, but Hartlepool is the first priority, and we have to keep our focus.

“Hartlepool are hot on our heels, and have some very good players themselves, but if we stay solid at the back and keep on attacking like we have been doing, we needn’t fear any side.

“With the Wycombe game being on Sky, other teams will have seen what we’re capable of and will be fearing the worst when they come to our place. It’s down to us to ensure they really do have something to worry about.”