We are a quarter of the way into the Championship season and as Huddersfield Town prepare to resume their campaign at home to Blackpool on Saturday, the mood around the club is a considerably more upbeat one now than it was at the outset.

Having seen manager Mark Robins exit and suffering successive defeats in their opening two games, Town have truly turned the corner since Chris Powell's appointment as Robins' successor.

He has overseen the first back-to-back league victories Town have achieved since last December, guided his new side to their first two clean sheets of the season and displayed tactical versatility for good measure.

With the managerial side of the equation now settled, it is left to the players to deliver the goods.

But how have they performed in the opening quarter of the season?

GOALKEEPERS

Alex Smithies

Question marks arose about his standing in the goalkeeping pecking order when Joe Murphy was snapped up by Coventry City. It is to the Town academy graduate's credit, then, that he remains the undisputed No.1 despite the increased competition.

His form has fluctuated at points this season - not least in the West Yorkshire derby - but he has responded on each occasion and the decision to stick with him under the new managerial regime would appear to speak volumes.

Joe Murphy

Although Smithies deserves praise for staving off the threat to his No.1 status by Murphy, it would be unfair to suggest he has not given him a run for his money.

Put plainly, the Republic of Ireland shot-stopper has not been handed sufficient opportunities to dislodge Smithies. He has featured on just two occasions - both in the Capital One Cup - and was hardly assisted by his defence on each occasion. He arrived at the John Smith's Stadium intent on winning the No.1 jersey but he will be hoping for a chance to truly stake his claim for it soon.

DEFENDERS

Tommy Smith

The phrase 'you always know what you are going to get from him' epitomises Tommy Smith. That is not meant in a derogatory sense, absolutely not, and should actually be treated as praise for his consistently solid and reliable performances.

And it was why his late lapse in gifting Middlesbrough a penalty during the 2-1 home defeat to the Teessiders was treated as uncharacteristic and left everyone slightly surprised to see it was the former Manchester City man who had made the error.

Lee Peltier

He remains a fans favourite at Town but there can be no doubt that he can improve on his early-season showings. Peltier has been primarily played at right-back this season but has not known which position he will play in each week due to the fact he has been shoehorned into various roles.

His versatility is a string to his bow but it is difficult to escape the belief that he would benefit from a sustained run in the side at either of right-back, centre-back or in defensive midfield.

Mark Hudson

One of the Terriers' best players so far this season having joined from Cardiff City on deadline day and has helped form a resilient and increasingly assured backline thanks to his organisational traits.

He acts as the leader which Town so sorely lacked before his arrival and that has helped bring out the best in those around him, who had previously looked lost and uncertain against some of the division's most lethal marksmen.

Joel Lynch

The fact only Smithies has played more minutes (990 v 977) underlines Lynch's value to the defensive cause and while his early-season performances were inconsistent and indicative of a player struggling for his best form, he has dovetailed brilliantly with Hudson.

The fact he has remained a virtual ever-presence despite Murray Wallace's impressive form suggests Powell is content with his central defensive partnership and the qualities each possess that help to complement one another.

Murray Wallace

The young Scot not only displayed a tenacious defensive style during his run in the first team, he also popped up with goals to further increase his burgeoning reputation.

Hudson's move to Town led to Wallace being sacrificed but Powell's praise for him in numerous press conferences throughout the season hint at further inclusion and indeed exposure to first-team football in the second tier.

Jack Robinson

The latest addition to the club's Scouse contingent but has not lived up to the initial hype which surrounded him, something reflected in Town fans' decision to vote him the biggest disappointment from their summer signings.

But he has retained his place in the starting XI at the expense of experienced Paul Dixon since Powell took charge and has been much-improved in recent times, although tangible question marks remain over his positional sense.

Paul Dixon

Having started the season as first choice in his position, Dixon has been forced to play a patient waiting game for another opportunity to win back the left-sided berth in defence, but it has failed to materialise thus far.

He starred in the win at Reading earlier in the season but since Robinson came in, Dixon has featured from the outset of a game on just the one occasion and that was on the QPR loanee's debut at Watford, when he was deployed in an unorthodox right-back role.

MIDFIELDERS

Sean Scannell

His transformation from being considered as a dispensable asset by the club to an integral part of the starting XI shows how hard the London-born wideman has worked to force his way back in with Town.

And that hard work is reflected in his on-field performances quite literally with an emphasis being placed on his defensive work when lining up on the right flank, but that has hardly sacrificed on his attacking work, which yielded a first goal of the season in the 3-1 win at Wolves.

Adam Hammill

If Scannell's rise to prominence has been startling, so has the apparent decline of Hammill, who has struggled with injuries and failed to cement a first-team berth despite finishing last season as the club's top assist maker.

He has started just once - the 4-0 home defeat to Bournemouth on opening day - and had made just four appearances in all competitions from the bench since, none of which have come during Powell's tenure.

Jacob Butterfield

Town's most productive midfielder having grabbed a goal in the 2-1 win at Reading earlier this season and an assist for Wallace's header in the 4-2 defeat at Watford as the former Middlesbrough man attempts to replace Adam Clayton's attacking qualities from deep.

He has occasionally flitted in and out of games but when he steps up to the mark, Town have a graceful, elegant controller of the ball at the hub of their team who can make a decisive impact in the final third.

Conor Coady

Another from Town's cluster of Liverpudlian players and one who has instantly endeared himself to the club's fanbase thanks to his all-action style, allied by a diligent attitude and the clear quality possesses on and off the ball.

The only slight on an otherwise largely unblemished start to life this side of the Pennines was his inability to find the net - something he answered emphatically with a stunning strike at Wolves to hush any doubters.

Jonathan Hogg

Powell's appointment has coincided with the return from injury and the return to form of the diminutive midfielder, who has given Town a steelier edge that they previously lacked in the centre of the field.

His revival has been the key for the Terriers' new-found defensive resolve and the improved adventure in his passing allows Town to convert from defence to attack in the transition quickly and effectively.

Radoslaw Majewski

The Pole - like Hammill - has failed to feature under Powell but having just returned to the fold from a personal issue, he will hope to belatedly kick-start his Town career having failed to make a true impact at the club so far.

During his opening few games he showed an appreciation for the passing game implemented by former manager Robins, but has equally looked too lightweight and failed to take two presentable chances in the 3-1 defeat at Cardiff City, something which needs significantly improving if he is to try and command a place in the XI.

Matt Crooks

In terms of the exposure he received in first-team football, he will surely thank the now departed Robins. Ultimately though, he will equally lament the previous manager's decision to field him on the opening day in the 4-0 evisceration by Bournemouth where the youngster, primarily a midfielder, was fielded in the middle of defence against the rampaging strike duo of Callum Wilson and Yann Kermorgant.

Crooks appeared nervous throughout the baptism of fire he had been handed and has not featured under either interim manager Mark Lillis or Powell since, suggesting his first-team debut may have been a somewhat premature one.

Jordan Sinnott

Like Crooks, Sinnott has been unable to truly break through into the first team this season and, with Oscar Gobern also on the comeback trail, it would appear that another obstacle has been placed in his path.

He has actually only managed a solitary minute of first-team action so far after emerging from the bench to see the Terriers over the line at Reading but will hope for more action as the games come thick and fast around the Christmas period.

Joe Lolley

Another youngster whose development appears to have stalled to a degree, with Powell's decision to opt for experience over youth so far paying dividends and helping to create a much more structured unit.

That is not to say Lolley will not get his chances and such a precocious young talent will have to be unleashed at some stage but he is being nurtured with patience, which has to be the right approach.

FORWARDS

Nahki Wells

Town's joint top scorer in the league alongside Harry Bunn and their top scorer overall courtesy of his Capital One Cup first-round hat-trick in the 5-3 win at Chesterfield.

Factor in the 793 league minutes he has played - more than any other striker - and you begin to understand just how valuable the pint-sized goalscorer is to the Town cause. A goal drought which stretched between home games against Charlton Athletic and Millwall hinted that he might be feeling the strain of leading the line largely on his own but the loan signing of Grant Holt should put paid to those fears.

Grant Holt

Holt's influence on the side since joining from Wigan Athletic on loan has been palpable and a beneficial one at that to not just Wells but the midfielders behind him who know they have a seasoned spearhead at this level operating in front of them.

That was made patently clear at Wolves when he grabbed two assists on what was his full debut for the club, illustrating an understanding had already been struck between the powerful frontman and his supporting cast.

Harry Bunn

Arguably Town's player of the season due to his consistency and above all else his meteoric rise from squad member to bona fide first teamer. In it simplest terms, Bunn is now alongside Hudson and Coady as one of the first names on the teamsheet.

His performance at Wolves in particular was as encouraging as much for the aplomb with which he took his first-half goal as it was for his seemingly incessant running up and down the left flank to assist Robinson at left-back and aid lone frontman Holt in attack.

James Vaughan

If Bunn has been Town's best player this season, then Vaughan sits right at the other end of the spectrum, albeit through no fault of his own. The striker simply cannot seem to shake off his injury troubles, with various comebacks being cut short by more niggles and knocks upon his return.

He was able to complete 73 minutes in one of two starts this season in defeat at Watford but was then withdrawn early at home to Middlesbrough and no specific timeframe has been put on his return.

Danny Ward

While Hammill and Majewski have failed to come into Powell's plans as yet, the manager has been more willing to accommodate Ward in his side, with cameos from the bench against each of Middlesbrough, Wigan Athletic and Leeds United.

Against Boro, he was lively and supplied a late leveller for Jonathan Stead, but he floundered against both the Latics and Leeds and has only made five appearances in total this term. With Scannell and Bunn having both nailed down the roles on the flanks at present, he faces a battle to become a more regular fixture in the side.

Jonathan Stead

Powell has also been willing to place faith in Stead in attack, but has only been rewarded once from the striker with his goal against Middlesbrough the only note of promise on an otherwise below-par season to date.

Prior to Holt's arrival, Stead was afforded the opportunity to prove the club did not need a new striker to lead the line but he failed to grasp it with a series of peripheral displays and the fact he has amassed just 10 minutes of football since Holt signed alludes to a drop in the pecking order for the homegrown striker, with Martin Paterson also sure to be breathing down his neck soon as he steps up his return to full fitness.