HUDDERSFIELD Town head to Sheffield United for the first time in a decade tonight with manager Lee Clark saying: “We’re looking forward to a big derby.”
Danny Wilson, whose Sheffield Wednesday connections meant he was shunned by a section of the Blades support before he had even got his feet under the table in his Bramall Lane office, has won round many of the doubters by guiding his side to the top of the early League I table.
Clark is full of respect for the former Owls player and manager, but believes he has the players capable of inflicting a first league defeat of the season on the hosts.
“Sheffield United made a great appointment,” said Clark of the man who replaced Micky Adams in the wake of the Blades’ relegation from the Championship, three years after they were playing in the Premier League.
“They brought in a very experienced and good manager, kept a number of the lads who had operated in the Championship and combined them with some very good players who got Sheffield United to last season’s FA Youth Cup final.
“They’ve had a very good start, and picked up another good point at Scunthorpe on Saturday. Seventeen from seven games is a terrific return, and underlines the kind of task we face.”
That said, Town are also unbeaten, and Saturday’s 2-0 home win over Tranmere means they are just four places and the same number of points behind the Blades.
“To be honest, the clean sheet against Tranmere pleased me as much as our forward play,” continued Clark, who saw spectacular strikes by substitutes Gary Roberts and Scott Arfield seal a third successive home victory.
“We working hard at doing that on a consistent basis, because we have goals in lots of departments in this side, and if we keep them out, we’ll give ourselves a great chance of winning games.
“We know Sheffield United will test us, but we have the kind of players who enjoy these types of games, the big build-up, the big arena and the big crowd, and we will go there full of confidence.”
Clark will make late checks on winger Danny Ward, forced out of the Tranmere match early on by an ankle knock, and former Blades left-back Gary Naysmith, who picked up a knee injury during the previous Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Oldham, Town’s third stalemate in as many away games this season.
And he confirmed captain Peter Clarke and midfielders Damien Johnson and Oscar Gobern, none of whom made the 16 against Tranmere, were available for selection.
“I had tough decisions to make on Saturday, and I have more of them for tonight’s match,” explained Clark.
“Peter Clarke has been outstanding since he came here (from Southend in 2009), but I thought the two lads who had been playing in central defence (stand-in skipper Antony Kay and Jamie McCombe) deserved to keep their places.
“Damien Johnson will be an outstanding player for us and Oscar Gobern was one of our best performers at Oldham, and it’s upsetting for me to have to upset them.
“I have a great relationship with my players, and it’s never personal when I leave anyone out, it’s just a case of selecting the 16 I think will give us the best chance of winning the game
“When they are left out, either of the starting side or the 16, I am getting the response I want, Rather than sulking, they are all trying to give me a nudge to pick them the next time.”
