David previews his first game at the helm of HTAFC
- David Wagner previews Sheff Wed game
- New HTAFC Head Coach delighted with his squad
- Ex-Borussia Dortmund II man excited for Saturday
New Head Coach David Wagner hopes the Huddersfield Town fans at Sheffield Wednesday ‘will see something new’ from their team.
The 44 year-old will take charge of the First Team for the first time on Saturday afternoon and told htafc.com that his first two weeks at the helm have gone very well, largely thanks to the openness of the squad to adopt his methods.
“They are making things very easy for us. The players have been very open to all the information they have got and they have made the first steps in their heads and on the pitch,” David explained.
“You can see they are welcoming and are accepting what we are bringing in. They are very good characters that like to work and try to bring onto the pitch what we show them on the videos. Everyone likes to work in this new way.
“I am very happy with the players I have; this squad did a very good job in the last two weeks.
“We’ve tried to bring in a few of our ideas; not all of them. We’ve had eight days to work with them instead of six or seven weeks in pre-season. We cannot overload them with information and instead give them the key points that we would like to see.
“We want people to be active in their defending; not passive. You have to be on your front foot and that is a change in the mind. We still have to build up the fitness in the next weeks, but we’ve started already.”
Wagner’s first game in charge is a Yorkshire derby against the Owls; a prospect that has whet David’s appetite!
“It will be exciting to see what happens on Saturday. Hopefully we will see the first steps in our new direction. Hopefully people who are there will see something new; our way.
“I think this game is perfect. It is not too far for our fans and hopefully we will have lots of Huddersfield fans in the stadium on Saturday.
“I respect Sheffield, like I have for every team in the Championship; their team and their manager. I have information on them myself, but also off Mikey Marsh and Stuart Webber.
“That is important, but for me it is much more important to see what my team will bring on the pitch. I only want to think about what we are able to do.
“We want to go there, defend very well and attack very well. We would like to win this game. Everybody knows that winning games makes life much easier, but everybody also knows we are changing something here and we’ll have to be patient. I am sure there will be ups and downs on our way.
“But of course, I would like to win our game on Saturday. That would build up the self-confidence. If we do win I’m not sure we will go on and win the next 10 games, but it would be a first step.”
The Terriers today welcomed left back Ben Chilwell to the Club on a Youth Loan from Leicester City; a move David is delighted with.
“First of all, he is a good English talent. He is very young and I think he will have a good future.
“At first we only had Jason Davidson in our squad as one left back, so we needed another. Stuart (Webber, Town’s Head of Football Operations) told me that we had an opportunity to take him and I said ‘OK, let’s do it!’
“When we have the chance to bring an England international youth player on a six week loan to look at him, I think we have to do this.
“I think we don’t have to bring too much pressure on this young guy; first he has to learn the names of the other players! We have tried to give him a very warm welcome, but he has to learn a little bit about our style of play.
“I hope he is like most young players are; they are fresh, they feel no pressure and they like to play. He is a good technical player with speed and I think it is very important that we get a good picture of him over the next six weeks. Everything I have seen from him has been very positive and I am excited to have him in our team.
“He will come with us to Sheffield for sure because it is important for him to be a part of the team and to see the game, but I don’t think he will play at the moment.”
David confirmed he will be without the services of a couple of players at the weekend:
“I have everyone I expected to. Everybody knows Philip Billing and Joel Lynch are injured for between two and four weeks – maybe longer for Philip – but everybody else is in a good way. A few players will need a couple of days’ training before they get a full opportunity with us, but I am satisfied with what I have.”
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