Huddersfield Town assistant head coach Martin Paterson acknowledged that his side need to “start better” in games following their 1-1 draw at home to bottom-of-the-table Burton Albion.

The Terriers were held to a draw by the Brewers on Sunday, with Michal Helik salvaging a point for the hosts two minutes from time at the John Smith’s Stadium. Town had trailed to a 13th-minute strike from Charlie Webster, but went on to dominate the contest in the second half, leading to the late leveller.

Paterson described his side’s first-half showing as “below par”, and acknowledged that the Terriers’ performances before the break need to improve.

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Reflecting on Sunday’s draw, Paterson – who conducted media duties due to Michael Duff being sent off late on in the contest – told HTTV: “I think first half we start well with an opportunity, and lose Danny Ward, so straight away we lose a player and a striker, so that’s disappointing.

“Then we shoot ourselves in the foot with a really sloppy goal. A lack of concentration, a little bit of a ricochet out of a wide area, a little low cross, and I’m not quite sure about the finish – if he meant it, fantastic, if he didn’t, then that’s lady luck.

“That’s not taking anything away from what they did. They defended with their lives, they’re fighting for their lives, I know all about that. Ultimately, second half I thought what was really interesting was we have 21 shots, the crowd stay with us, the crowd suck the goal in, we score a fantastic goal, and we’re quite critical in a sense where we have so many opportunities, can someone step up and score that winning one, or can we convert two over the half, which we’re more than capable of doing?

“There is a positive inside it, but also having an honesty to not shy away from the first half being below par. I think that’s where the players need to recognise that they need to start better, they need to put their foot on the gas quicker, because when we get them in and we tweak things around, they’re always good in the second half it seems.

“It’s not a big concern, because the last home game we take the lead after a couple of moments. It’s not something that we should really be overly concerned [with].”

The result leaves Town in fourth place in the League One table, on 43 points from 22 matches played. Despite the disappointment of the draw, the Terriers extended their unbeaten run in the league to 13 matches with the late equaliser.

Duff’s side will now head to the Brick Community Stadium on New Year’s Day to take on Wigan Athletic having not lost in League One in three months, with the Terriers last beaten in the division by Birmingham City on October 1.

“We’ve taken a lot of points, we’re unbeaten in 13 now, so again it’s staying positive inside it, making sure that we coach the players. In a period where games come thick and fast, it’s just making sure that you stay positive as well,” Paterson added. “It’s no problem being honest, and talking about how we let a sloppy goal in and we weren’t quite at the races, and too many sloppy passes we thought as staff, but again second half, we can’t doubt their effort.

“What’s nice to see, especially from where I watch the games, is the supporters getting right behind them and support them, because they can see that the players are giving everything, and it’s not a question of that, I just think it’s a question of someone stepping up and putting the ball in the back of the net.”