Caretaker Manager Mark on his challenge to the players
Huddersfield Town’s Caretaker Manager Mark Lillis has challenged the Club to pull together ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup Fourth Round game at home to Leicester City.
Town’s Academy Manager, alongside Senior Professional Development Coach Steve Eyre and Professional Development Coach Frankie Bunn, took training this morning in the aftermath of Simon Grayson’s departure and has challenged the players to put in the kind of effort he was renowned for during his playing days with the Terriers:
“The players deserve credit for getting on with things; they’ve put a great shift in this morning,” Mark told htafc.com.
“We have an FA Cup Fourth Round game on Saturday, which is a very important one for the Club. There are no points to play for on Saturday, so perhaps the pressure is less, but it is an FA Cup tie with a view on getting into the Fifth Round.
“In the end, it’s important because it’s a game of football for Huddersfield Town. I’ve had 14 years here now as a player and now a coach. When I played here I wasn’t the best player, but I knew that if I put a shift in the fans would get behind me and we’ve challenged the players to do that.
“You don’t go into a cup game with the notion that it doesn’t matter – we want to win. A win could kick off a run.”
With cheap prices set for fans at the gate and Leicester selling out its 4,000 allocation, Lillis is hoping the whole Club pulls together and moves forward after this week’s events.
“The FA Cup has brilliant tradition and it’s a good day for the fans to come down and for everyone to pull together. It is 10 pounds and five pounds to get in tomorrow to come and get behind the team. As a Club we have pulled together and we move on.
“Leicester are near the top of the League; they’re a good outfit. They have a good, experienced manager and have some real athletes in their team. It will be a hard game.”
Lillis has stepped in on a temporary basis at the request of Chairman Dean Hoyle and although he will be proud to lead the side tomorrow, he indicated he has an important job to continue with at the Club’s academy.
“I came in a year ago as Academy Manager with a target of getting category 2 status within the EPPP rules. The Chairman has asked me to step in and take the Leicester game alongside Steve Eyre and Frankie Bunn. We’ve made the dressing room aware of what’s happening too.
“We’re all focussed on the FA Cup tie at the moment and as a former Captain in a promotion-winning side, it will be an honour to lead the team at our Stadium. I’ll embrace that tomorrow and then we’ll take it from there.
“As you can see at Canalside, the whole club is based here so the First Team players see me, Frankie and Steve every day. We are always mingling and talking, so it hasn’t been that big a transaction and changeover. Hopefully knowing us is a good thing!”
Saturday’s FA Cup game is pay at the turnstiles - £10 adults and £5 concessions – get down and support the side!
