NICHOLLS ‘BLOWN AWAY’ BY ENGLAND CHATTER

HUDDERSFIELD keeper Lee Nicholls has played down talk of an England call-up, but admits he has been “blown away” by praise this season.

The 29-year-old spent most of the last campaign on the bench in League One with MK Dons, but has been a revelation for the Terriers this term.

Nicholls has kept more clean sheets than any other keeper in the Championship and says the speed of his rise has surprised even him.

He said: “It just blows me away. I wasn’t playing in League One 12 months ago, so it’s crazy hearing people saying stuff like that, but for me personally, I’ve got here by working hard day by day. “I said it to the boys after the Millwall game that it doesn’t matter where we are, it doesn’t matter where we’re going to go. What matters is the next game; training matters tomorrow.

“I said to Clem (Paul Clements, head of goalkeeping) recently, we had a meeting and I said that in pre-season when I first walked in it was the next ball, it was nothing else, whatever’s going to happen after that doesn’t matter until it came.

“That’s what we’ve got to go back to and something I’ve got to stick to regardless of what’s going on. But I’m in the best place of my career and I just want it to carry on.”

On Huddersfield fans clamouring for him to get the nod from England boss Gareth Southgate, Nicholls added: “As I say, I wasn’t playing 12 months ago in League One and it just shows how far you can go with hard work.

“Even to be associated with the England squad is an amazing feeling, but something that I’ll stick to is just working hard.

“I’ve swore by it, but I think this season more than ever just shows, just take it a day at a time, it doesn’t matter what’s going to happen next week.”