ADAM CLAYTON says Huddersfield Town must start playing mind games as they plot a way to climb back up the Championship.
Simon Grayson’s side go into Saturday’s tough Sky-televised clash at Crystal Palace in 17th place and without a win in six games.
But Clayton claims Town, who have been as high as second, know they are capable of much better, and must start showing it, beginning at Selhurst Park.
Palace are up in second, but the former Manchester City and Leeds midfielder insisted: “We need to go there thinking we can win – because we can do.
“We’d been very happy with the way things were going until the last four or five weeks. We’ve been hugely disappointed not just with recent results, but also the performances.
“They’ve been a bit off, but every team has their ups and downs. We have players coming back from injury and suspension, and I’m sure we can turn things around.”
Town hope Jermaine Beckford (inset), who came off the bench for his first appearance in six games at Hull after a hamstring injury, will benefit from a full week’s training.
The Leicester loan man is aiming to build on a record of three goals in six starts in the South London showdown. His fellow forward James Vaughan, an ex-Palace loan player, is also regaining sharpness after a thigh problem while Simon Church is back after a bout of illness.
Alan Lee misses the clash through suspension but fellow former Palace player Sean Scannell should be available after going through an intensive sharpening-up training schedule.
“After the start we made I think expectations were raised, and justifiably so,” added Clayton. “There are some great players here.
“I’m sure once we start fielding our strongest 11 we’ll start pushing up the table again. We deserve to be up near the play-offs with the players we’ve got.”
