Huddersfield Town

- David Wagner previews game at Reading

- Head Coach says Emirates FA Cup replay is 'win or die'

- Wagner hails imminent return of Dean Whitehead

“I feel excited, just like I did before the first game 10 days ago. We are prepared, maybe a little bit more than 10 days ago because we’ve played them already and now know what to expect. We will go to Reading to beat them and get in the next round,” David told htafc.com. 

“This game is very important to us. We can play this game without any pressure from the table and thinking positively that we can be in the next round. 

“Hopefully we are aggressive, like we were in the first 70 minutes of the first game. We have to be good in our reactive pressure and find the right spaces to play against them. Hopefully we are able to use our set pieces like we did in the last two games, as that would be great.

“At the end, I think fitness will be a very important point in tomorrow’s game. For both teams, this is the fourth game in 12 days. We know this will be hard work, but everybody will enjoy this Emirates FA Cup game against a good team like Reading; one we can beat if we bring on the pitch what we are able to. 

“If fitness is the thing that decides the game, I’m very confident we will be the team that takes the game. I think we have developed in fitness in a very good way over the last 11 weeks and we have rotated in the past to make sure everyone has the opportunity to rest and be fresh. 

“We will make sure we keep the game open and aim to make the key points go in our direction.” 

The winner will host Walsall in the Fourth Round on Saturday 30 January – but David isn’t looking any further than the Royals.

“This has no influence on the game tomorrow; for me, it is completely uninteresting who the opponent in the next round is. Of course we know it is Walsall at home, but we are only focused on how we can beat Reading. 

“It is ‘win or die’, maybe with overtime or penalties. We will do everything that we have to so we are in the next round.” 

David’s travelling squad has been bolstered by the return of two players from injury:

“We will take all the players with us to Reading who are available for the game tomorrow. We will stay overnight on Tuesday and train in Reading on Wednesday and for this I like to have all the guys with us. 

“We have no new injuries since the last game. ‘Scanz’ will be out tomorrow, but Dean Whitehead is back; I expect he will travel with us to Reading tomorrow. Kyle Dempsey will be back as well. They are two more options than we had at the weekend, whether it is from the beginning or during the game. 

“We have a squad that has been used very much in the last days and weeks, but we have enough players that will hopefully be fresh enough. We have to bring fresh players in and make sure everyone keeps healthy, as we have done in the past. 

“They will work as hard as they can to take the best possible result.” 

On the return of Whitehead, David continued:

“In the first three games we had together, he did an unbelievably good job. He is a very good player. The easiest things are often the right things and he always does the right thing. Now, after this break, he will be fresh and hungry, but have to make sure we build him up in the right moment after eight games out. In a few days he will be the old Dean Whitehead that he was before.”