Defender believes Town can get to Premier League
THE bedrock of Huddersfield Town’s season has been their excellent defensive work. Summer recruitment has seen them evolve from the side who conceded the most goals in the Championship last season to one who is fighting for a play-off place.
One of those signed in the summer is loving life at the club and believes he’s in the best form and fitness of his career. Matty Pearson arrived on a free transfer with a wealth of experience from his time at Luton as part of Carlos
Corberan’s new defence.
The Terriers signed an entire back five to supplement those already at the club and all of their reinforcements have played a big part this season. Pre-international break Pearson was in fine form despite Town falling to two defeats.
With the run-in ahead, fine detail is going to be the difference and fortunately that is Corberan’s speciality. Pearson feels that his head coach’s ultra-detailed approach is getting the best from him.
“I think it helps me – if you’re telling me what to do I’ll try to do it to the best of my abilities straight how the manager wants it, I’m not an off-the-cuff type of player - if you tell me to run 100 metres I’ll run 100 metres,” the 28-year old defender told Examiner Sport. “It’s good for people like myself who can go through the options of where they want me to play and it definitely helps the whole squad as we’re all reading each off other – we’re all working and understanding how each other play and getting better.”
Pearson also feels he’s somewhere near his best right now, something that is also shown in both Examiner Sport and your player ratings over the last month.
Town’s 17-game unbeaten run may have been ended by the defeats to Millwall and Bournemouth, but the defender is not only happy with his own game, but is daring to dream.
“Yeah, I’d like to think I’m at my best, definitely with the results we’ve had and where we are in the league table this is the highest I’ve been but that’s not to say this is the highest I’ll ever be I want to push on and get to the highest point we can which is the Premier League,” Pearson said.
“I fully believe we can do it - I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t and I’m striving to get us to there.”
Alongside the defensive stability another key tenet of this season for the Terriers has been the levels of fitness within the squad. After a new year injury collapse curtailed last season, this year there has been no such issue.
Town currently have 11 players who have played more than 2,000 minutes this season and Pearson himself is now north of 3,000. He feels he’s the fittest he’s been in his career to date.
“Yeah I think my games prove it,” he said. “I’ve not missed many games and physically my distance on my stats in games have been the highest they’ve been – you won’t see that but comparing my games from last year to this season I’m running a lot more, I’m sprinting a lot more, it all adds up and I’m definitely a lot fitter.”
I want to push on and get to the highest point we can, which is the Premier League Matty Pearson