Huddersfield Town

Here is part three of his four part review – to read part one, click HERE!

To read part two, click HERE!

The Chairman was particularly keen on stressing the importance of mental toughness of the players in the Championship.

“The Championship is relentless and the players and staff have to be mentally prepared for it. There is no respite. We need players with a strong will; a team of winners who can cope with the challenges. 

“We want to recruit players who see Huddersfield Town as a step forward in their careers. The balance in recruitment has to be right and we need to bring players in who want to progress their careers with this football club – not as a sideways or backwards step. Players must have a real desire and will to play for Huddersfield Town and give everything for it. 

“It’s tough to know for certain what a player’s mentality is like before you work with them on a daily basis, but we have to do our due diligence on new recruits. Before we brought James Vaughan to this Club last season, the due diligence was done and was spot on.”

Hoyle also explained that Town’s current crop of players have been given strict Sports Science (exercise and weight) regimes to follow during the closed season to ensure they return ready for action:

“All the players have been sent away until late June with targets to meet. If they come back having failed to meet those targets on weight and fitness, I believe that shows a lack of professionalism and we won’t stand for that. 

“That might sound tough, but we need people who really want to be here and we will do what it takes to be successful. Standards will be high at this Club.” 

This season Hoyle has been impressed by the quality of youngster coming through the system at the Club, with the Under-21s reaching a national semi-final and the Under-18s still to contest the League Final at QPR next Wednesday.

“I’m excited by the youngsters we have coming through – some of them are fantastic. In the last few months we have recruited some really exciting young players locally, nationally and internationally in the Professional Development phase. There has been some great work put in this season and it’s important not to forget the work Graham Mitchell put in before that.” 

Dean also believes that the Club is prepared for the implementation of new Financial Fair Play rules.

“Our wage bill will have to reduce this season, probably by about £2 million; most other clubs are reducing spending to comply. We have out of contract players leaving and a lot was tied up in loan players, so we have room to bring in the players we need.

“The money for Jordan Rhodes coming in over four years will also help us on this front.”

Part four will follow on the website on Tuesday afternoon, but to get it first sign up to our newsletters by visiting www.huddersfieldportal.com!