Chris reviews the 2-1 loss at Turf Moor
- Chris Powell reviews 2-1 loss at Burnley
- Manager happy with impact of subs
- Powell discusses need for improvement in final third
Huddersfield Town Manager Chris Powell gave his thoughts on today’s 2-1 defeat at Burnley following the final whistle.
“I thought we settled into the game well.
“Whether (their first goal) was a penalty or not, all I can say is that my players are adamant it wasn’t. I’ve always said if you go to ground, you give a chance of a penalty being given and sadly it was. You always look at the reaction of your own players and they were adamant.
“It was a very good finish by Andre Gray for his second goal; that is why you pay the money for him. He’s very good.
“I thought the response in the second half was possibly worthy of getting a point today. That’s what I wanted and demanded from the players in my half time team-talk and they gave me and the supporters that. I wanted to give our fans something to be proud of.
“We had a lot of passages of play and enjoyed a lot of the ball, but as soon as we got in the final third the cross or decision just wasn’t right. I keep saying to them that is the most vital part of it. We are building from the back and through midfield, but we’re lacking confidence in the final third. We got that a bit better in the second half – although not from our corners.”
Powell admitted that the introduction of Nahki Wells and Kyle Dempsey brought about an improved second half performance:
“I thought the two subs that came on made a bit of a difference as well. We took the game to a side that was gracing the Premier League last year. If there had been another five minutes, we could have got something out of it. I’m very proud of their second half, but the kick in the teeth was the penalty and conceding the second goal. We didn’t give ourselves enough of a chance.
“I thought ‘Pato’ and Nahki combined well and we allowed Emyr (Huws) and ‘Demps’ (Kyle Dempsey) to drive on, which allowed us to get back into the game.
“The subs did what you want – they affected the game. That’s why you have those boys on the bench; to change it. Without a doubt, they have to come into contention on Tuesday, especially now we have lost Dean Whitehead with five bookings.
“I’ve spoken with Nahki about his role and maybe we’ve been asking him to go a bit deeper. We want him on the shoulder. For us to score goals and he created a tough chance when the ball came over their back four, hitting it over the goal. That’s what we want from him.
“Kyle is inexperienced, but he has settled in well now. He’s had an illness recently, but at other times he has nearly had a chance in the team. Now he is fit and ready and I’ve told him he will get his chance, just like Jamie (Paterson) had today. Hopefully now we can build on that.”
When asked about competing against the likes of promotion-chasing Burnley, Chris continued:
“We know where we’re at with our squad, with the Under-21s on the bench, but they got on with it. They showed in the second period they can play against these sides that are much fancied in the division, like we did against Derby. They are a very good team and we’ve given them a run for their money.
“We want to get past these teams, but we know when you get down to the real facts they are established sides with bigger squads. We are competing hard and as well as we can. I don’t want our players ever doubting that they should be playing against these teams, because they are good enough; it’s just about consistency. We’re not far off, but it’s a relentlessly tough league.
“We know we might be a bit short at times, but I’ve told the lads we’re not far off and we can get there through sheer hard work. It will never be easy for us and we understand that, but we have to stay in games as much as we can. Today it could have run away from us, but we set out to win the second half and that gave us a chance to get something."
