Huddersfield coach Rick Stone has described reports linking Danny Brough with a departure from the club as a “storm in a teacup” – describing the speculation as “unfounded”.
A national newspaper said on Sunday – just hours before the Giants were due to play Wigan – that the clash at the DW Stadium would be the last time Brough played for Huddersfield amidst talk of a fall-out with Stone.
But Stone laughed those rumours off at his weekly press conference on Wednesday – and Brough is due to be named in Huddersfield’s 19-man squad for the game against Leeds on Friday.
He said: “I’m assuming he’ll be in there and playing. He’s as good as gold. It’s disappointing for the fans to hear reports like that emerge and when unfounded reports come to fruition it’s a shame for them to have to read – but we didn’t take too much notice of it.
“It’s a bit of a storm in a teacup as far as I’m concerned.”
Stone, however, did admit that the reports could have potentially had an unsettling impact on his side’s preparation for the Wigan game.
“I suppose it could have,” he said. “You never like to destabilise a team; to get the best out of them you want to have a stable environment and that wasn’t good leading up to a game. We had to be professional and get on with it; we’re disappointed that reports with no factual foundation emerged – but we move on.
“Broughy generally brushes things off. He’s been pretty good for us this year and while he hasn’t been perfect, his effort is always there and that’s the main thing.”