HUDDERSFIELD Town have solid foundations in place despite their play-off agony – and will continue to move forward.
So says Nigel Clibbens, the club’s chief executive .
He’s the man with his finger on the pulse of all things blue and white and he’s optimistic Town will turn the wheel of emotion full circle next time.
Clibbens is in place to manage chairman Dean Hoyle’s funding of the club and to oversee commercial and community activity – all of which provide a positive backbone for what happens on the pitch.
He sees no reason in the wake of Old Trafford for Town to feel sorry for themselves or to take a backward step from the long-term planning which Hoyle has put in place at the Galpharm and Canalside training complex to take Town to the Championship.
“Over the course of the season we have a lot to be proud of,” said Clibbens, who manages a turnover of between £5m and £6m in League I.
“We have had some fantastic times, the club has moved on and we’ve got to look forward to next season and the prospect of doing it the ‘easy’ way by winning automatic promotion.
“There is a lot to build on from what was, really, a great season with 27 matches unbeaten, 87 points and a record number of away wins. Those are statistics to be proud of and it was only at the final hurdle that it wasn’t our day.”
Clibbens says manager Lee Clark and the directors – he works closely with director of operations Ann Hough and commercial director Sean Jarvis – will do all they can to keep the playing squad as intact as possible while recognising the budgets that are already on the laptop.
“We have some great foundations in place and some excellent players, and we are a far better team now than we were this time last year (when Town lost in the play-off semi-finals to Millwall),” he said.
“Next season we will be even better, I’m sure, because we’ve got some terrific players with lots of ability and we want to keep moving forward with them.
“We don’t really want any of them to go and we don’t see any of them going. We want to keep moving forward because the lads have done great.
“It’s tough now, obviously, because we are all so disappointed, but I am sure come pre-season the players will all be looking forward to doing battle again and, next time, we’ll be determined to do it automatically.”
Backed by over 31,000 fans at Manchester United’s Theatre of Dreams, Clibbens knows expectations will be high once again. With the bulk of the squad already under contract, only a few bits of ‘tweaking’ are envisaged to enable Town to stand shoulder to shoulder with Preston, Sheffield United, Scunthorpe and the other promotion favourites.
“Last season was an exceptional League I and the teams that went up were very, very strong,” he continued.
“It just happens that, during the season, there were four of us vying for three places – two automatic (Brighton and Southampton) and one promotion through the play-offs (Peterborough).
“One of us had to lose out and, unfortunately, it was us at the very last hurdle.
“It’s difficult for everyone at the moment having come so far and not done it, but last year we were in this position and went out a round earlier, so we have come back stronger and I’m sure we will come back stronger again.
“We’ve have got absolutely nothing to feel sorry for at all.
“We have done ourselves credit, the club credit and, over the course of the season, the fans have been fantastic.
“Give it a few weeks and we will all be looking forward to it all again – aiming to do what Brighton and Southampton did this time.”
So what were his reflections on Old Trafford, where free t-shirts for the fans made the Stretford End and adjoining banks of seats into an impressive blue and white background?
“We did ourselves credit as a club I felt, the players gave it everything and the crowd gave it everything – it just wasn’t to be our day,” he said.
“There was a long period at the start of the second half where we played really well and put them under a lot of pressure, and if we could have scored at that point you never know what might have happened.
“Unfortunately we didn’t get our goal from a few half opportunities and Peterborough are very dangerous. They got one, then got another very quickly and it was game over.
“But as I’ve said, we will come back stronger. A lot of good things are in place at our club and we will build on them.”
OKAY, we’re all still feeling the pain of the play-off final defeat by Peterborough, but let’s be positive – there are plenty of reasons to believe 2011-12 will be Town’s season.
Here are 10 to be going on with:
1. Dean Hoyle: The club’s owner-chairman (right) will continue to back the push for the Championship. He’s been successful in business, and is equally determined when it comes to his beloved club.
2. Lee Clark: The Geordie boss is hard-working, highly rated within the game, totally focused, has gained valuable experience and works with trusted staff.
3. Year-on-year improvement: Clark has guided Town to final positions of ninth, sixth and third. Now his aim will be first.
4. Fan power: Town took more than 31,000 fans to the final at Old Trafford and will be among the best supported in League I next time around.
5. Facilities: There’s no doubting the quality of the Galpharm Stadium, which will have a new pitch, and Town will soon have a top-class training ground at Canalside.
6. Odds on: William Hill have Town at 9/2 favourites (in front of Sheffield Wednesday and Preston) to win the division, and you don’t see many hard-up bookies!
7. Wembley hope: Town came so close to making the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy final. Why not do it next time around?
8. Captain fantastic: Peter Clarke, who always leads by example, nailed his blue and white colours to the mast by signing a new contract.
9. International experience: Town already have Gary Naysmith, Joey Gudjonsson and Alan Lee on board, while Damien Johnson, Kevin Kilbane and Nick Colgan might well return.
10. Up-and-coming youngsters: Can the likes of Chris Atkinson (right), Jimmy Spencer, Hatib Cham and Greg Pearson follow Jack Hunt and Liam Ridehalgh by making their mark?
So, come on. Let’s get positive!
To see more stories, pictures and a full set of League I match reports from this season, pick up our special souvenir end of season supplement in your Huddersfield Examiner newspaper today.
