Words by Gary Carter
SCOTT Malone has revealed how being booed to the point of being hauled off by his own fans was a massive step on his road to the top.
The Huddersfield defender is riding high as David Wagner’s men remain confident of defying pre-season predictions of an immediate return to the Championship, despite dropping to second bottom.
But it was a very different story at Millwall, where Malone found himself on the wrong side of their fans after joining from Bournemouth in a swap deal in 2012, to the extent he was taken off during a game.
Malone, 26, said: “I think there’s a Millwall way and I don’t think was a Millwall type player when first got there. I don’t think they’d ever quite seen attacking full backs and I had quite a tough time.
“I remember I was getting booed by my own fans. Kenny Jackett took me off and said, ‘Look, I couldn’t leave you out there.’ It was quite horrible for me.
“I think that was the turning point for me in my career. Family members and people I work with turned around to me and said it was a make or break moment.
“You can either accept it and sulk if you like and not work hard or you can knuckle down and prove people wrong and I think that’s what I did.”
Town boss Wagner is likely to make plenty of changes for tonight’s FA Cup replay at Birmingham but Philip Billing is set to retain his place despite being dragged off half an hour into the 2-0 defeat at Manchester United.
And the midfielder has revealed chairman Dean Hoyle may have mystic powers after a prediction he made when he was just 16-years-old.
When the Dane joined the Terriers, Premier League football seemed a million miles away but Hoyle told him in 2013 he would be a top flight player and it has come true.
The 21-year-old said: “When I first signed, at 16, the chairman said that within five years, you have a chance to be in the Premier League. It happened. It’s been crazy, I think.
“He hasn’t mentioned it but I remember him saying it. I think he remembers as well, but I haven’t really seen him to say this. I remember him saying this when I signed.”
Wagner himself is under no pressure after their drop into the bottom three but hopes players he brings in at St Andrews make their mark.
He said: “It feels OK to be in the bottom three. Now we can chase, we can look forward and look to climb the table. We should not forget we are three points from 12th in the table. I like the chase now.
“We will make changes like always but all of my players should show they are capable of performing at a better level than in the first game. It’s a good opportunity to show what they can do in another competition.”
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