David Wagner admitted fatigue was a fundamental factor for Huddersfield Town's away defeat last weekend at Nottingham Forest.

Despite priding themselves on being one of the fittest sides in the SkyBet Championship, known for their high-octane gegenpressing game, Town struggled to get into gear against Mark Warburton's Forest side.

Goals from full-back Eric Lichaj and forward Jamie Ward were enough to seal Forest's victory who arguably could have won by a larger margin had it not been for a string of fine saves from Town stopper Danny Ward.

German Head Coach Wagner admitted he was 'surprised' at the low energy levels at The City Ground but quickly reacted by given his jaded side a couple of days down time ahead of tomorrow's home clash against Preston North End.

“I was surprised at the fatigue at Forest but at the end of the day it can happen,” admitted Wagner.

“We weren't at our best in terms of energy levels so we've tried to get a little bit of freshness back and I think it's helped having a bit of a break.”

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And forward Nahki Wells feels he and the rest of his Huddersfield Town team-mates have benefited from the few days away and are ready for action against their Lancashire counterparts tomorrow afternoon (3pm kick-off).

“We consider ourselves as one of the fittest sides in the league but we can't make excuses for our performance (at Forest),” Nahki Wells said.

“But the dominant performance against Norwich City took a lot out of us – coupled with the short turnover of the games.

“Nottingham Forest had one extra day to prepare and in football that is an enormous amount of time, plus we had to travel - it's all small advantages.

“But it wasn't to be and we've benefited from having a few days off and come back refreshed and ready to go,” added Wells.