HUDDERSFIELD TOWN boss Simon Grayson says hard work and some new faces are needed to stop Town sliding into a full-scale relegation battle.

Yesterday’s demoralising 6-1 setback at Leicester City was Town’s heaviest defeat for 14 years and the manager, whose side are without a win in 10 matches and now lying 17th in the Championship, cancelled a scheduled day off today to start preparations for Saturday’s FA Cup third round meeting with Charlton Athletic at the Valley.

Town host Birmingham City in a crucial Championship clash seven days after that and the manager admitted: “Our form is worrying and we have to improve quickly.”

Town are seven points above the relegation zone and Grayson continued: “I am realistic and I know we are in a position which is causing concern and on a run in which we are not doing enough to win matches – and are sliding down the table as a result.

“We knew how Leicester would approach this game and we had a plan to be solid and try to be difficult to beat.

“But we started dreadfully and gave ourselves a huge task.

“Too many players are making wrong decisions on the field and it is a situation that we have to address.

“We were already looking at a couple of players and the situation is that we need more leaders on the pitch.

“We also need to get back to basics on the training ground and in games, and start to do the things we were doing which had us in the top six earlier in the season.”

Grayson was today checking on the fitness of keeper Alex Smithies who was forced off at half-time at the King Power Stadium because of a dead leg.

Ian Bennett replaced him for his first appearance of the season, but couldn’t prevent Town suffering their worst loss since a 7-1 defeat at Barnsley in the 1998-99 season.

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