As Huddersfield Town prepare for their fourth season in the Sky Bet Championship, for the first time in a while there is genuine optimism flowing around the John Smith's Stadium leading up to the new season.

The Terriers have reaped the rewards of taking the risk to appoint David Wagner and, if the second half of last season was an audition, Dean Hoyle has rewarded him by giving him a free licence to bring in a number of players.

Manager Wagner has opted to return to his native country of Germany to bring in players he has previously worked with, whilst at the same time integrating talented young players from both the lower leagues and the Premier League to complement his squad.

The mass overhaul, which has seen thirteen players arrive including a number of them which have no experience of the Championship, makes it difficult to predict what to expect next season.

However, the recurring theme is the charismatic manager Wagner, who has firmly rooted his philosophy and ideology into the very DNA of Huddersfield Town.

Here, FootballLeagueWorld writer Elliott Wheat-Bowen identifies THREE things to expect from Wagner's Huddersfield Town this season...

Terrier-like spirit

The mantra of Huddersfield under Wagner is to adopt a terrier-like spirit, which is what to expect when watching Huddersfield next season.

The arrival of Wagner saw an instant change in the style of play, as he persisted with a fluent, expansive possession style play which was predominantly based on playing from the back. Although there were error-strewn performances and notably poor performances towards the end of the season, Wagner will persist with that mentality, albeit under different circumstances.

Where Huddersfield tended to fall short was out of possession when attempting to engage with the concept of gegenpressing (reactive pressure). This is what Wagner describes when speaking of the terrier-like mentality.

The intensive high pressure and hunting for the ball in packs was visible in small patches, but it is much more likely to be visible and has been in pre-season, as Wagner has spent the vast majority of last season working on both the squad's fitness levels and the foundations to implement the gegenpressing system.

As well as improving the fitness of the squad and more generally the tactical awareness, Wagner has brought in a number of players that he has previously worked with, including Chris Lowë and Ivan Paurevic, as well as Elias Kachunga, Jack Payne and Kasey Palmer, who bring speed and energy to the pressing game.

Although Huddersfield remain in their earliest stages of their transformation to Wagner's playing style, I expect to see a style closer to Wagner's vision next season, when he has players that have been purposefully chosen to play Wagner's system as well as continuing to develop players that are already in the club.

The 4-2-3-1 system

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Wagner is a firm believer in the 4-2-3-1 formation, and this can be seen by the team that he deployed last season and how he implemented his rotational policy.

The fact that many clubs have only two fit senior strikers, in Huddersfield's case Nahki Wells and Elias Kachunga, this would be a concern. However as Huddersfield are likely to persist with a single striker formation, two strikers provide enough cover for each other.

Wagner's persistence with this system is visible in his summer acquisitions. Both Palmer and Payne are young talents that have been mounded into the number 10 role.

As well as Palmer and Payne, Manchester City loanee Aaran Mooy is the perfect deep lying playmaker to complement a more defensive-minded holding midfielder like Jonathan Hogg or Dean Whitehead, whilst feeding Huddersfield's wide array of attacking options. This is ideal for Wagner's 4-2-3-1 set up.

The continuity of the same set up is what makes up for the increasing amounts of rotation.

The work ethic that Wagner imposes on his players can often lead to dropping in energy levels, which is why Huddersfield have been one of the most active clubs in the transfer market as Wagner adds strength and depth to his squad, whilst keeping in mind the 4-2-3-1 system.

The system last season proved to be hugely successful at some points and out of sorts at others, but with the increase in both the quality of personnel and the larger squad, Wagner is creating a set up where the 4-2-3-1 is second nature to the players and when effective, it can be one of the most difficult systems to break down and prevent from overwhelming the opposition.

If Wagner can create a squad that thrives within the 4-2-3-1 system, exploiting the fast transitions and counter attacking opportunities and also the possibilities of interplay and space in the final third, Huddersfield could be one of the teams to watch next season.

A higher league finish

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Despite the optimism and positivity, from the outsider perspective, Huddersfield finished 19th and their final two performances were two of their worst throughout the entirety of the season.

However, to place it in its proper context, Wagner inherited Chris Powell's squad, and the lowly finish was a false position to those who watched Huddersfield on a regular basis.

At times, it appeared Wagner simply didn't have the players to fit the system, and the incompatibility of some of the personnel and Wagner's style of play led to costly mistakes.

The main obstacle that faced Wagner was the defence, which was too leaky for Huddersfield to build any momentum or put a string of results together.

As Wagner has evaluated his squad, next season we will see a completely different defence, with record signing Christopher Schindler from 1860 Munich playing at the heart of the defence and Welsh international Danny Ward cementing the goalkeeper spot to give Huddersfield more defensive stability.

Chris Löwe, John Gorenc Stankovic and already cult hero Michael Hefele have all strengthened the defensive position, with only Joel Lynch being the notable victim of this overhaul.

With Wells likely to stay at the club and the attacking options continuing to improve, Wagner has compiled a well-rounded squad which can build on Huddersfield's attacking prowess from last season with defensive solidity and fortitude to make the difference in tight Championship encounters.

Both the performances and results drastically improved following Wagner's arrival in November of last season and, with a full season at the helm with his own squad, a finish higher than the 19th position is what I expect from Wagner's Huddersfield side next season.

Huddersfield fans... do you agree? Let us know your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!