How Huddersfield Town are trying to ensure history does not repeat itself in promotion race

It was around this time last season that the wheels well and truly came off on the Terriers' promotion push - with a defeat at Wigan, no less. Will things be different this season?

It’s a year to the day since top six Huddersfield Town paid a visit to relegation-threatened Wigan, put in a stinking performance, and lost 2-1.

“That was a strong contender for the worst performance of the season,” we wrote after the game. “Town are miles off the pace and their issues are getting worse.”

Far from being a one-off, that result was just the latest in a string of post-Christmas setbacks. A run of 16 games without defeat suddenly gave way to just three wins in the next 12, including dropping points to five bottom-half sides.

We were so worried about Town’s direction of travel that we added: “The automatic promotion race is not just dead and buried for Huddersfield Town; their chances of even having a shot at promotion are gradually ebbing away… they are doing an excellent impression of a side whose season is petering out just when they should be coming on strongest.”

We know what happened next, naturally. A victory at Stevenage the following Saturday offered a ray of hope, but subsequent defeats to Wrexham and Bristol Rovers cost Michael Duff his job. Town went on to lose all but two of their remaining 12 games. This represented Town’s worst-ever decline from a position of strength, outstripping even the infamous collapse of 1999/2000.

Last season’s trip to Wigan, a year ago today, was pretty miserable

And now, a year later, top six Huddersfield Town are preparing to pay a visit to relegation-threatened Wigan. They have had several post-Christmas setbacks, dropping points to four bottom-half sides — setbacks serious enough to cost a manager his job.

Having hit too many of the same story beats already, Town need to make sure they write a different ending this season.