Huddersfield Town: We have got a special mix says Black

STEVE BLACK reckons there’s a “special mix” developing in the Town squad which augurs well for the future.

The Galpharm club’s respected performance coach has a close bond with Lee Clark’s players and believes they have all the qualities needed to become strong promotion challengers in League I.

A top-six placing and a slot in the FA Cup second round is not a bad way to be approaching next Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off against Wycombe at the Galpharm – 15 years on from the Buckinghamshire club being the first visitors ever to play at the stadium.

And while Black is not prepared for anyone at the club to get ahead of themselves, he’s confident Town are on the right track both for short-term and longer-term success.

“The attitude of the players and the spirit among them is great and they are a super bunch to work with,” said Black, whose counselling and motivational skills have been universally applauded by the squad since he joined the staff almost a year ago.

“We have been very fortunate with the lads we inherited when we came here and the lads we have brought in because there is a special mix developing.

“Everybody gels well and there is a shared vision of where we are going.

“Day by day on the training field we are building a sub-culture and it’s getting better and better.”

Well known for his mentoring work with close friend Jonny Wilkinson – who made his return to England rugby union colours against Australia on Saturday – Black brings a new dimension to the coaching staff.

There’s the experience of assistant boss Terry McDermott, first-team coach Derek Fazackerley development coach Paul Stephenson and goalkeeping coach John Vaughan, while Andrew Cole continues to coach the strikers when he can slot sessions into his busy schedule.

It’s a set-up with which manager Lee Clark is very happy, and Black is confident the players are taking on board what is required to make a push for the Championship.

“The great thing about the future is that it comes one day and one game at a time,” said Black.

“As a staff, we have talked about what’s ahead for us during the season and we’ve all said the squad are capable of answering any questions which are put to us. Any problems or challenges which are put up for us, we have the capability to deal with them.

“So you do keep an eye on the future, but you have to deal with it day by day and game by game and, hopefully, at the end of the season we’ll be going up to the next level.”

Black stressed it’s a process of development and added: “The time to judge everything is at the end of the season, after 46 games.

“If we are going up automatically then that will be marvellous and all well and good. If we have to wait to go up with the last kick of the ball in the last minute of the play-off final, it will still be mission accomplished.

“Being professional, that’s how we put it in perspective and how we approach the task – day by day.

“We have to respect the other teams in League I, because there are a lot of good people out there wanting to win and wanting to achieve exactly what we are trying to achieve.

“But we think as a staff that what we are doing on the training ground, the development we are making with the players and the growth we have achieved, it’s putting us in very good stead for the future – we really do believe that.”

Black was particularly delighted with the last league performance, the 1-0 victory against Oldham Athletic at Boundary Park which pushed Town back up into the top six and ended a run of five away matches without a win in all competitions.

“It was a terrific result for us, especially in such difficult conditions with the wind and rain,” he said.

“I feel we’ve been playing quite well away from home with the exception of one game where we didn’t deserve to get anything out of it, which was at Millwall (3-1 defeat).

“Other than that I think the lads have put in some decent performances and not got the rewards they’ve deserved, so it was nice to come away from Oldham having played well and got the three points.”