'Huddersfield Already Building For Next Season'
- Leicester City tackle Huddersfield Town at John Smith's Stadium on Saturday (3pm BST kick-off)
- Ben Abbiss, from the Huddersfield Examiner, has provided this week's Opposition View
- He says the Terriers are already planning for next season following relegation from the Premier League
- Live coverage of the clash is available for free on LCFC Radio from 1pm BST on Saturday
Huddersfield Town were relegated from the Premier League last weekend, after a 2-0 defeat by Crystal Palace, with six top-flight fixtures still to play in the 2018/19 campaign.
They entertain Leicester City at John Smith's Stadium on Saturday as Brendan Rodgers men go looking for a fourth consecutive victory in the top tier of English football (3pm BST kick-off).
While supporters of the west Yorkshire club will understandably be disappointed, Abbiss told LCFC Radio this week that there are reasons to be excited for next season in the second tier.
“They’ll want to win as many of their six games as possible, but more than anything, because they’ve been relegated early, it gives them an opportunity to plan ahead,” he said.
“It’s an unusual amount of time to have to start planning for next season so it will probably effect the way they go into these games.
“It’s definitely going to be the same manager next season, the chairman has made that clear, and going into next season, the plan is not to panic now.
“The plan has always been to make Huddersfield into a club who doesn’t view relegation as the end of the world, so they’ll be looking to compete once again in the Championship.
“Next season is going to be about building a team. There is likely to be players coming and going, but you can already see that there are signs of what that team will look like.
“There’s a lot of young players who have been given game time, like Karlan Grant and Juninho Bacuna, and they will be central to what Town do next year.”
Asked which players could pose a threat to Leicester City on Saturday, Abbiss pointed to Grant, a 21-year-old forward signed from Charlton Athletic over the winter transfer window.
“Grant came in January and he’s the top scorer (with three goals), so that tells you everything you need to know about this season for Huddersfield,” Abbiss added.
“He’s the main goal threat and he’ll probably start up front. A lot of away fans who come have been surprised with how good Town have been, until they get into the final third.
“Actually on the ball, you wouldn’t automatically think that Town are getting dominated in games, it’s both ends of the pitch where they have struggled this season.”
LCFC Radio's matchday coverage starts with the Pre-Match Pint show at 1pm BST on Saturday- and Foxes fans can tune in for free!