Former Huddersfield Town ballboy Ben Jackson on learning from the best as another injury increases his importance

On Wednesday the Terriers entertain a Sunderland side managed by Tony Mowbray, the teak-tough former Celtic captain Mark Fotheringham has admired since he looked up to his time in the academy there.

Joao Cancelo is one of Jackson's heroes and with Ollie Turton set for surgery and Sorba Thomas banned, he might have to emulate the Manchester City defender's ability to switch seamlessly from left to right.

Jackson, who had a loan at Doncaster Rovers last season, has always enjoyed learning from the best.

"The main memory for me as a ballboy was when we were in the Premier League watching some of the players we were playing against," said Jackson, a left-back who started on the left wing against Millwall but finished at right-back.

"You're almost sat there forgetting you have a job to do because you're watching the game and you're so intrigued. You're trying to learn while you're doing your ballboy job.

"The more football you watch, the more you can learn. I watch Premier League football as much as I can because that's the pinnacle of sport. Little traits can help me with one per cents."

As for who he watches, the club he supports provides some brilliant full-back role models.

"I'm a (Manchester) City fan so as a left-back I'm watching Cancelo quite a lot and I'm watching how (Kyle) Walker goes about his business because they are serial winners," he explains.

"Cancelo's not a normal full-back who gets up and down, he comes into central midfield and can cut in on his right foot from left-back or use his left foot from right-back. It's just something I feel I can learn from in terms of trying to use both feet."

Using his right foot could be important with Turton set to miss the next three months with syndesmosis – an ankle ligament problem Fotheringham suffered as a player.

"He looks like he's going to need an operation," confirmed the Scot.

"He was quite shocked because he could put weight on the foot. When he went down during the game we were also shocked because he's not a player to go down in them moments, even if he has an impact injury.

"He's what I call a real Terrier, he just throws himself into tackles. But it just opens up another opportunity for someone to come in."

That could be Kaine Kesler-Hayden but given the Aston Villa loanee has not featured since Fotheringham's second game in charge, it would be no great surprise if he went with Jackson instead.

Matty Pearson has had the screw removed from his broken foot but a first-team return is still some way off. But Fotheringham says the absence of two experienced defenders will not affect his thinking when Huddersfield look to "refresh" their squad in January.

Jackson showed some spirit himself against Millwall, demanding a towel at one point to dry the ball after the Town ballboys hid them away from opponent Zian Flemming.

"The ball did need drying but if the fans are geed up by it and that helps the atmosphere, I'll do anything to keep the fans entertained!" smiled Jackson.

"When I was ballboy I wouldn't have had the belief in myself to upset the other team. When you're on the pitch you feel a bit more confident."

If Jackson's Terrier spirit ticks boxes with Fotheringham, so does a hunger to learn which is not unique to him in the squad.

"It's good that young players enjoy the game and think about it," says the coach. "He's probably the first one to come up the day after a game to watch his clips and chat about them with our staff. It's pleasing when you see a player always wanted to develop.

"I learnt this from a player I played with many years ago called Dion Dublin and even at Norwich when he was 37 years-old he said, 'I'm still learning.' It really stuck with me.

"We're lucky we've got young players with that mentality.

"Etienne Camara shadows Tom Lees everywhere he goes and we make sure he does because Tom Lees is one of the most professional players I've ever seen. When we've got someone like that in the building it's just brilliant for our young lads.

"(Jonathan) Hogg and Matty Pearson come into that bracket as well. They're leaders in everything we do. Boyley (Will Boyle) too – a great trainer and a leader who's very positive about the group and gets down to business every training session."

That Fotheringham has so obviously taken to Jackson has been the making of a player whose Huddersfield debut came in September 2020.

"It gives you a massive confidence boost and then you start to train harder because you've got that extra little bit of belief that you can get into the team and make a difference,” says the 21-year-old. "I've had that extra ten or 15 per cent.”

Add that to a hunger to improve, and it bodes well for the ballboy to take centre stage in future.