Following three superb wins in his opening trio of games, Liam Manning’s side sit in 6th position and with momentum building in the hunt for promotion.
Huddersfield’s 2016/2017 Championship Playoff Final victory
Since the arrival of Liam Manning, the Terriers have made the perfect start with nine points from nine against Charlton Athletic, Luton Town and Peterborough United.
Tuesday night’s clash against fellow playoff rivals Luton felt like a particularly important win after Alfie May received a straight red card inside half an hour, his team battled hard for a 1-0 win against the odds.
Terriers looking up the table
Three wins on the bounce is always welcome but in the promotion race, building confidence and momentum in the second half of the season is crucial.
While only Bolton have played the full 30 matches along with Huddersfield, Bradford have suffered three defeats in their last four which has seen a seven point gap from Huddersfield slashed to just one in the space of two weeks.
In fairness to the Bantams, all three defeats came to sides in the top 6 including Liam Manning’s opening match as Huddersfield head coach last month.
The Terriers, along with title favourites Cardiff, are the only teams within the playoff places that do not have a fixture against a fellow top six side in the next three matches.
Bradford welcome Stockport on the 17th February which gives Huddersfield a window of opportunity to capitalise on dropped points for one or both sides, they travel to 22nd placed Doncaster on the same day.
Bolton continued their impressive form in the league at the weekend as they recorded a fourth win in five, conceding just two goals in that time.
However, Bolton’s end to the season is about as difficult as it gets, their final five matches are against Stockport, Cardiff, Huddersfield, Bradford and Luton.
One eye on the chasing pack
A late winner in a five-goal-thriller at Peterborough from new signing Cameron Humphreys meant the gap between Liam Manning’s side and 7th position became a healthy six points.
Looking at this section of the table highlights the importance of Huddersfield’s journey to Stevenage a week on Saturday.
The Boro have two valuable games in hand over the Terriers but have managed just one win in their last ten league matches.
Luton bounced back from the 1-0 defeat in West Yorkshire last week with a home win against Blackpool to get back on track after a poor run of form for Jack Wilshere’s men.
The next two will be tough however, hosting Bradford before travelling to Cardiff will make the gap to Huddersfield a difficult one to close this month for Luton.
Ultimately, the fate of Huddersfield Town is in their own hands and thanks to Liam Manning’s 100% record in his opening three matches, a platform has been given to push on and secure a playoff place.