Chris Powell hailed returning midfielder Jonathan Hogg after he set up both Huddersfield Town goals in the 2-1 win over Bolton Wanderers.
The 26-year-old missed the Boxing Day draw at Rotherham United because of illness.
His return allowed manager Powell to field his favoured three in the middle, with Hogg alongside Conor Coady and Jacob Butterfield, who scored the first goal.
“I thought Hogg was immense,” said Powell. “The three in the middle dovetail really well, and they will only get better with playing games.
“Butts is a creator, a scorer of goals and wants to put that telling pass in.
“He’s a very good player, and I’m really pleased to have him.
“Conor has been schooled well and wants to develop his game and learn.
“And Hoggy is just what the fans like. He has aggression, he wants to get around the pitch and he wants to knit things together.”
Powell went with a 3-5-2 formation against Bolton but explained: “It’s fluid, and when needed we can go four at the back.
“I like to have Tommy Smith coming in from the right for protection. It allows Jack Robinson to bomb on and lets us have the three in midfield and two up front.
“Sean Scannell provides width on the right and while Harry Bunn likes to plays off the left, he can also operate down the middle.
“In addition, it’s a 14-man game these days. You need your subs to make a difference and Nahki Wells did that with his winner.”
Bolton boss Neil Lennon, whose side suffered a first defeat in nine, was upset by the performance of referee Trevor Kettle, claiming: “We have been done by two decisions,.
“Heskey was clearly onside when he scored – he was at least level with Jack Robinson – and their second goal was handball by Hogg (in the build-up). But to be fair to Huddersfield, they had a very good spell in the first half and really forced the game.”
It was the 100th competitive meeting between the two sides, with Town chalking up their 34th win.
Bolton have 46 victories, including a 1-0 home triumph over Town in November.
