Huddersfield Town’s training ground is a world away from the secluded, high-security complexes that house many of their Premier League rivals.

At the public sports venue located on the busy Leeds Road, a short hop from the John Smith’s Stadium, you are just as likely to bump into a pensioner pitching up for a game of bowls or croquet at PPG Canalside as you are David Wagner, the Huddersfield manager, or one of his squad.

The players’ canteen is open to the public, and at a time when there seems to be an ever-widening gap between the man on the street and top-flight footballers, Huddersfield represent a welcome throwback to another age.

It is no surprise to discover Wagner has been showered with hugs by happy locals at PPG this season, and if Huddersfield can overcome West Bromwich Albion on Saturday to keep their noses in front in a congested relegation battle, the German will be in line for a lot more love. “I’d take every hug,” Wagner says, smiling.

The trip to the Hawthorns is the first of seven matches that seem likely to determine Huddersfield’s fate. Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday week aside, all of Huddersfield’s opponents are involved in their own fight for survival, even if the pressures on some are much greater than those facing a club punching far above their weight in their first top-flight campaign for 45 years.