MURRAY WALLACE is more than ready to bolster Huddersfield Town’s bid for a crucial three-point haul at home to Middlesbrough tonight.
The central defender is on stand-by for the crunch Championship clash as Anthony Gerrard struggles to beat an Achilles tendon problem.
Joel Lynch is also pushing for a place as manager Mark Robins decides whether an Englishman, Welshman or Scotsman will partner captain Peter Clarke.
Like Wales international Lynch, Scotland Under 21 player Wallace was on the bench at Brighton on Saturday, when a 4-1 loss left Town 19th, five points above the drop zone.
The late collapse – Albion netted three times between the 76th and 81st minutes – was a big setback after the morale-boosting 1-0 win at Burnley seven days ago.
And former Falkirk man Wallace pointed out: “You could say the final scoreline wasn’t a true reflection of the game.
“We competed well until they scored their second goal, but then heads went down, and it’s a problem we’ve had all season.
“We seem to concede then lose our belief, and we have to change and change quickly, because it’s costing us.”
Wallace, 20, is hoping for a fourth Town start and sixth appearance in all and added: “I’m more than ready and a wee bit frustrated not to have played more often.
“All I can do is keep working as hard as possible to make sure I make the most of any chances which come my way.”
Town will be without eight-goal top scorer James Vaughan, who must serve a two-match suspension after collecting a 10th booking at Brighton.
The punishment will also keep him out of Saturday’s West Yorkshire meeting with Charlton, who head to Peterborough tonight.
But the first priority is the test against a seventh-placed Boro side boosted by Saturday’s 2-1 home win over leaders Cardiff and desperate to keep their play-off challenge alive.
Before toppling the top dogs, Tony Mowbray’s men had suffered seven defeats in nine league outings.
“It’s the first of two really big games for us,” said Wallace. “Both Boro and Charlton are good sides, but we’re capable of beating both of them.
“This is a great chance to earn some crucial points and put distance between ourselves and the relegation zone.
“We need to recreate the kind of battling performance we produced at Burnley, and there’s a strong belief among the players that we can stay up.”
