Huddersfield Town centre-back Michael Hefele can’t wait to tackle Leeds United.

And the popular German says the players see the derby as a way of saying thanks for the backing provided by the fans so far this season.

“They have been fantastic,” said the 26-year-old, who also enjoyed passionate support at former club Dynamo Dresden.

“A good relationship has been formed between them and the players. The fans make it special at our stadium.

“We often talk of details, and they can be a detail.

“We can’t shake 20,000 hands or buy 20,000 coffees, but we can give our best out on the grass.

“That’s what we did against Brighton ( beaten 3-1 on Thursday ) and we will try to do it again against Leeds.”

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Hefele was a two-goal hero as a stand-in striker as Town dumped Rochdale out of the FA Cup with a 4-0 win at Spotland in round four last Saturday.

He was back in the heart of defence for the exciting Championship triumph at home to leaders Brighton.

“I think the last two games should give us real confidence,” he added. “We won them both well, but in different ways.

“Because of the Rochdale pitch, we had to change our way.

“Against Brighton, I thought we had total control for the majority of the game.”