Sean Scannell's new Huddersfield Town deal caps incredible rise from bit part to integral part

Sean Scannell is a player who thrives on confidence, the sort of player who requires an arm around his shoulder to harness his undoubted talents.

Those talents were threatening to be unfulfilled ones at Huddersfield Town, where he had seemingly failed to show his true worth since arriving from Crystal Palace in 2012 for a reputed £800,000 fee.

Town would have been within their rights to question the value of that outlay after a paltry goal return of just four in two seasons and though he made a commendable 80 appearances across those campaigns, there was a tangible question mark over whether or not he would ever produce the form which had seen him attract a host of admirers during his Selhurst Park stay.

Mark Robins questioned the defensive aptitude of a player who appeared at-odds with the former manager's penchant to line his side up in a 3-5-2 formation but his short-sightedness towards Scannell's qualities on the flanks have been laid bare by Chris Powell.

Powell has shied away from the suggestion he is directly responsible for the wideman's ascent but it is no coincidence that his arrival has helped to yield Scannell's best and most sustained run of form in a Terriers shirt.

The brand of football Powell has promoted plays right into the hands of a player who is now approaching each game with a renewed confidence in his own ability and a refreshing determination to target and hurt opposition full-backs.

Just ask Joel Dielna and Danny Fox - two victims of the revitalised Scannell - who will vouch for the terrorising nature of his performances.

No longer do Town have a passenger on their hands; Scannell could previously be accused of looking for the simple pass when space was there to get at down the right.

Now they have a player who is proactive in setting about beating his man and some of the tricks, flicks and mazy runs he is attempting are symptomatic of his renewed self-assurance.

Powell's presence, coupled with the loan signing of Grant Holt and a zestful attacking style, have seen Scannell emerge as one of the most formidable individuals in the Championship.

The manager may have been reluctant to lap up any plaudits for his part in Scannell's resurgence, but his man-management style and the fact both hail from London have been crucial factors in his prodigy's development.

The summer felt like something of a crossroads for Scannell in terms of his Town career and the fact he was deemed one of few dispensable options from the first-team squad epitomised his struggles.

So dispensable in fact, that it took a personal intervention from Powell to secure his future at Town with Millwall hovering as the transfer deadline approached back in September.

That was the shot in the arm needed for Scannell to realise there was an opportunity to be seized and that he had the manager - who has since admitted that he coveted him when in charge of Charlton Athletic - onside from an early stage.

And it is to his credit, as much as Powell's and his team-mates, that he has been able to silence any critics by delivering a series of displays full of pace, penetration and purpose.

He has three assists to his name, leaving him as Town's joint-creator-in-chief alongside Holt and Tommy Smith and all have arrived during the two apogees of 2014/2015 to date.

Those came against Blackpool and Nottingham Forest, where it felt as if he was at the height of his powers as he tormented Dielna and Fox but also proved to those who still doubted his final third productivity that he did have the end ball to boot.

Those two matches felt significant in the context of Scannell's time at Town as the doubts that surrounded his very existence as a bona fide first-teamer subsided in one fell swoop.

And even more significant is the confirmation that the next stages of his career will now be spent at the John Smith's Stadium.