Huddersfield Town has a unique opportunity to abandon its ingrained underdog ethos

Everyone like the idea of being the underdog, but striving for excellence is perfectly acceptable as well. The Terriers appear to want to adopt that mindset.

Everyone like the idea of being the underdog, but striving for excellence is perfectly acceptable as well. The Terriers appear to want to adopt that mindset.

Why is clear to see. At Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson loved to encourage a siege mentality, even at the height of winning every trophy in sight. That sense of “us against the world” can be a powerful motivator for people who are already as competitive as an elite athlete must be.

Ironically, no one truly wants to be the underdogs. Even though some of his conclusions are debatable, Malcolm Gladwell is right when he says that it is strange that we have a tendency to support the underdogs while the favorites have typically earned their position by being extraordinarily strong.

Kevin Nagle believes the club is now prepared to focus on their longer-term future on the field with new ownership and management in place, and that the context of wholesale change at all levels of the club gives a unique opportunity to establish a new culture.

When discussing what drew him to Darren Moore, Nagle himself made mention of it, using the term “winner” no fewer than three times in the span of 53 words. One of Moore’s strongest arguments, according to Jake Edwards and Mark Cartwight, is his track record of establishing a winning culture at each team he has worked with.

There were rumors that Moore was already making an effort to instill that in his players even during his first week with the team. Ben Wiles stated the following before Town’s match against Ipswich Town: “Every challenge we get set in front of us is always going to be tricky for us, but I think we’ve got enough in the changing room to have a real good go and put it on [our opponents].”

“I believe that’s what we should attempt to do in each and every game we play. We don’t want to be seen as losers or at the bottom of the table any longer. I believe we have so much to offer.

As much as anything tactical or technical, that mentality shift might take some getting used to for this Town team, many of whom were a part of the group that miraculously recovered from an impossible situation the previous season and unexpectedly advanced to the play-off final.

Given Town’s mediocre and erratic start to the season and the comparatively small amount of investment made in the playing team thus far, the underdog label still holds true for the time being. If Nagle’s predictions for the January transfer window are accurate, we’ll have to wait and see.

Although getting them there might require a little amount of the underdog spirit, Moore should focus more on breaking out of their enduring underdog role than on longer-term goals of playing in the Premier League.