Wembley dream a big Huddersfield Town incentive despite League One priority

Huddersfield Town defender Mickel Miller is excited by the possibility of making another Wembley appearance in the EFL Trophy after reaching the final twice in recent seasons.

The Terriers have reached the knockout stages of the competition, after progressing through their group last week with a 4-1 victory over Manchester United under-21s. Having finished second in Northern Group F, Town are now four games away from reaching the final as they enter the round of 32 stage.

Miller has enjoyed two cup runs in the EFL Trophy in recent years, first winning the competition with Rotherham United in 2022, before finishing as runner-up with Plymouth Argyle the following season. Having had previous success in the competition, the wing-back is eager to have another positive run in the tournament with the Terriers.

READ MORE: Huddersfield Town man's confident claim sums up mood as Terriers ready to return

READ MORE: Huddersfield Town are 'nowhere near' where Michael Duff wants them to be

Discussing the EFL Trophy at a recent press conference, Miller said: “It’s something different to play for. The league is the league, you have your own objective in the league, but then a cup gives you that other incentive of football, which is fun, a cup run and you play different teams.

“It sits quite deep with me. I’ve come from non-league, so anything you achieve, I look at it like it’s massive. These cup [games], I look at them as like a step closer to achieving something big. You go and beat Man U and you go through, and then we get to Wembley, everyone’s going to be celebrating it just as big as if we get promoted.

“How many people can say they’ve played at Wembley, at one of the best stadiums in the world? There’s a lot of things to look forward to in this cup itself.”

In his first Wembley appearance, Miller’s side were on the verge of suffering defeat to Sutton United before Jordi Osei-Tutu netted a 96th-minute equaliser to keep Rotherham in the tie, with Paul Warne’s team going on to claim a 4-2 victory after extra-time.

Reflecting on that success, the wing-back added: “It was an exciting day to be fair. I thought we were going to lose, and then weended up coming back last minute. The atmosphere on the day, and the feeling is literally just as overwhelming as getting promoted in the league. Definitely a day to remember.”

For now, Town’s focus is currently on their League One campaign, with the Terriers returning to action on Saturday against Charlton Athletic at the John Smith’s Stadium. Michael Duff’s side are tasked with securing an immediate return to the Championship, and find themselves just outside the play-offs at present, sitting eighth in the table on 23 points from 14 matches played.

Miller, who secured promotion out of the third tier with both Rotherham and Plymouth, believes that team spirit and consistency will play important roles in determining the outcome of their campaign.

Discussing the key factors behind his previous sides’ successes, Miller said: “I’d say the main thing is probably team cohesion, and that comes with everyone, so staff, even background staff, and most importantly the players that aren’t playing. It’s hard to keep a big squad happy, because everyone wants to play, but if you manage to do that, and everyone buys into it, then you’re laughing, because everyone’s going to be needed. It’s obviously not that easy to keep everyone happy when you’re not playing.”

On the importance of being consistent, the wing-back added: “I think that’s what the gaffer tries to imply. He knows how good we are, he sees it every day in training, so he’s just trying to [drill] into us that we can’t be one minute down here, and next minute up there, we need to get that middle ground. We’re not going to be amazing every game, but if we keep our consistency of that middle ground, we’ve still got enough quality to beat a lot of teams in this league.”