Recalled Higginbotham keen to land vital role for Town

Within a couple of weeks, however, those hopes seemed in tatters as Lee Clark was sacked and his replacement Simon Grayson made it clear he was going to look elsewhere to fill his forward line.

A loan switch to Barnsley followed, where he was reunited with former Rochdale manager Keith Hill, and as the Tykes preserved their Championship status that looked like being the end of his season.

That was, though, until Grayson decided to recall the 23-year-old and hand him a chance in place of Jordan Rhodes, who the Town chief wanted to rest in the final two games to keep the club’s top scorer fresh ahead of the play-offs.

Now, with two impressive displays under his belt, Higginbotham is hoping to play a big part in the forthcoming double-header against the Dons.

He said: “My debut was against MK Dons and I had a really good game so it would be great to start where I left off in that one. We want to get a good result to bring back to Huddersfield.

“Everyone in the squad is upbeat after finishing on a high. Our results might not have been the best over the last few weeks and the fans were rightly disappointed.

“But I believe we have shown over the past couple of weeks that we can compete with the best and, hopefully, take the good out of the Yeovil game (that Town won 2-0 on Saturday).

“I felt I did well and want to keep my place. Obviously, it will be difficult with Jordan Rhodes coming back and Alan Lee also available. But I have not done myself any harm in those last two games.

“The gaffer came in (to replace Clark in February) and hadn’t heard of me. So, fair enough, he went with the players he knows. We had a chat and he felt it best for me to go out and get games.

“He saw something he liked when I was at Barnsley and called me back. You need fast players when counter-attacking so to have me and Danny Ward can make a big difference.”

Higginbotham, who has experience of the play-offs from his time at Rochdale in 2008 when Hill’s side lost to Stockport in the Wembley final, was delighted by the final-day twist that saw Huddersfield leapfrog MK Dons into fourth place.

The upshot is that instead of, as seemed likely, having to travel to stadium:mk for the second leg a week today, Town will make the trip down the M1 on Saturday for the first leg.

Higginbotham said: “I think it is vital to be away in the first leg so last Saturday was great for us. Having your own fans behind you in the second leg is important, it is like having a 12th man.

“It is heart-breaking when you don’t go all the way. But if you can win it then it is the best way to win promotion. I believe it can be third time lucky (for Huddersfield) to win promotion.”