Skipper Excited With Championship Test

Peter Clarke has expressed how much of a test this upcoming season is going to be for Huddersfield Town but sounded excited to be going into the first match against Cradiff with a host of new signings & the captains armband to his name. Before they travel to the Welsh club a trip to Deepdale to play against Preston North End in the first round of the Capital One Club will see Grayson & his team tested with a weakened squad due to international call ups;

"I think the whole experience of promotion was still surreal up until the fixtures for the Championship came out last month. I think then the realisation set in that we are a Championship club and will be playing against some of the biggest clubs in English football, in some fantastic venues. As with any team that gets promoted into a new league the first objective is to secure your place in it for the following season, but we don’t want to be battling down at the wrong end of the league - we want to be surprising a few people and giving a good account of ourselves."

"The Manager is very shrewd and he has made several acquisitions over the summer. The lads that have come in have fitted in great and through playing games and from training day, in, day out you begin to build an understanding and I think that is beginning to happen, which is a good sign."

Clarke has already played alongside two of the new signings made by the manager, Anthony Gerrard & Keith Southern, and the skipper is delighted to have been reunited with them once again;

"I played with them both before in my career – Keith far more than Anthony. I can certainly say on behalf of the lads that they are wholehearted players who will give you everything that have got out on the field. Keith has a terrific engine and gets around the pitch well; he breaks things up and gives it nice and simple – he can also weigh in with his fair share of goals. Anthony is a tough lad, a no-nonsense type of defender. He is very competitive and he can play a bit from the back."

The skipper stated that The Championship is going to be very tough and having four games in just the opening two weeks is a real challenge for the terriers;

"As in any league, or competition, there is a never any easy game. You have to earn the right to win football matches and that will be no different this season. The start is going to be very tough; we are away twice in the first week and we will do our best to give good accounts of ourselves. Pre-season is always tough and the workload is always long and hard, but it is about getting ready and match fit. When you get to the back-end of pre-season all you want to do is start playing competitive football. It is the first time in my career where the League Cup starts before the season proper, so it is a little bit odd, but it makes no difference and it is a game that we want to do well in."