Chris reviews today’s friendly defeat at Barnsley
- Chris Powell reviews pre-season friendly loss at Barnsley
- Huddersfield Town Manager sees room for improvement
- CP believes players are up for the Championship challenge
Huddersfield Town Manager Chris Powell told the media there is more to come from his side in the 2015/16 Sky Bet Championship campaign after today’s 2-1 friendly defeat at Barnsley.
The Terriers took the lead in the first-half through an excellent Nahki Wells goal, but were pegged back and defeated by the League 1 hosts in due course.
The Manager was happy with the nature of Town’s goal, which involved a great pass in the build-up from Kyle Dempsey and equally impressive finish from the Bermudian striker:
“We started off very well and our best passage of play resulted in a goal, but I wanted to see more of that over the 90 minutes. At times we did, but at other times we didn’t.
“Nahki’s goal was excellent; he has looked sharp all pre-season. I think his all-round game has come on; he’s not just playing off the shoulder now, but he’s getting involved in the build-up play. His runs are clever.
“The players know that if we can get Nahki one-on-one with defenders in those areas, there is only going to be one outcome – as we saw today. It was an outstanding goal with some good build-up play before it, which is what I want to see more of.”
After the defeat, Powell and his technical staff spent over an hour with the players in Oakwell’s away dressing room, as he explained:
“I’ve debriefed the whole pre-season, not just today. I thought it was right for them to leave here knowing the things I’m looking for and the things I don’t think I’ve seen yet, which we need to get into our play this week.
“There are some good things that we need to do more of, but at times we haven’t pressed an advantage further with our quality. There are things we have to improve on individually and as a unit to be ready for the season. I’ll deal with those with my players in the squad. There’s no doubt that there are still areas to improve on.
“I still feel there is more to come. They are a terrific group and they’ve worked really hard this pre-season, during which time we’ve had some results go for us and some against us. That’s pre-season for you – and that’s gone now.
“There’s no doubt that we have real technical ability and skill in abundance, but we have to marry that with discipline on and off the ball and having an organisation about us – regardless of the personnel.
“They are ready and willing to do well. They’ve earned the right to play in the Sky Bet Championship, whether they are young players or senior players, but they know that for us to be ‘at it’ we have to ensure we do the right things week in and week out.
“We’ve got through today and now we have a clear week before next Saturday. This wasn’t a positive way to end pre-season but, as I’ve said to the players, it’s all about next week when we’re playing for points.
“We’ve got another Yorkshire derby against an ex-Premier League side and we have to be ready for it. We want to hit the ground running. We’ve tried different things throughout pre-season and we’ll continue to work hard this week, because it’s for real next week.
“It’s a new season and a new challenge and every single player has to be up for what lies ahead. We’re up for the challenge, most definitely, and we will fight for every ball and earn the right to win games.”
Ishmael Miller played an hour upon his return from the injury he sustained in the warm-up at Guiseley, whereas fellow forward James Vaughan got another half an hour under his belt.
Chris continued: “We’ll work with them this week. It’s a shame that they’ve missed most of pre-season, but hopefully they are a bit fresher after the time they got on the pitch today.
“Ishmael was only down to do 45 minutes, but we got an hour out of him. Hopefully he recovers well and will be stronger for it. The same applies to James. We’ll see where we’re at when we’re back on Monday.”
Adam Hammill wasn’t involved in the 20 man squad at Oakwell, as Chris explained:
“I have to fine tune the squad. He’s trained well all pre-season, but sometimes if a player isn’t going to get enough time on the pitch they are better doing work at the training ground.”
