Huddersfield Town

The left-sided defender did well as the Terriers picked up four points from a possible six over Easter; particularly impressing against a physical Ipswich Town on Monday.

Ahead of Saturday’s game at Nottingham Forest, Reece told htafc.com that he’s very impressed with his new daily surroundings at PPG Canalside:

“I’m settling in really well; everyone has been very good with me. The Manager, Al D (Alex Dyer) and Steve (Eyre) have looked after me, helping me out on the training pitch, and the lads have been really good too.

“Every day in training, the Manager comes over and helps me with areas I can improve; crossing, defending and other pointers. That can only improve me as a player. 

“I’ve been very impressed with the Club. I was at Rotherham not so long ago, but the facilities here are a lot better and that’s a good selling point to get players here. The pitches (at PPG Canalside) are very good, as is the stadium. Everything is here.

“That’s a big factor. First and foremost I’ve come here to play, but having the facilities are important too and Huddersfield Town ticks all the boxes.” 

As for his performances in his first two Town appearances, the Manchester United loanee commented:

“I think I’ve done alright – stead away – but equally I feel I could have done a lot better in both games. There’s still more to come, especially in the attacking sense. 

“I like to get forward and put crosses into the box, which I showed a little bit on Monday, but I’m still getting used to the players and becoming accustomed to where they want my runs. As I play more games, that will improve. 

“I still have to try and learn about the physical side of the game, which I found out on Monday against Ipswich. A lot of balls in the air came to my side, which I expected anyway; I thought they’d target me as Luke Varney is much bigger. I’ve got to try and toughen up in those sorts of areas. 

“At times Oscar (Gobern) came across and did a very good job in helping me out by winning headers, whilst I was trying to get my body in the way. I think I did that well at times, but I could have done a lot better to stop Varney getting a clear header for their goal.” 

Games such as Easter Monday’s contest against the promotion-chasing Tractor Boys are just what the doctor ordered for Reece, who is trying to get acclimatised to the Sky Bet Championship as soon as possible.

“It’s very quick,” he continued. “You get pressed as soon as you get the ball and there aren’t as many available passes as I’m used to from Under-21 football, where you have a lot more time on the ball. It’s a good learning curve. 

“Mark Hudson spoke to me before the Ipswich game and talked to me about how to cope with Ipswich’s threat. That helped me in the game; it got me thinking about what I had to do and I think it worked.”

James and his teammates now go into Saturday’s game against ninth-placed Nottingham Forest at the City Ground trying to keep the momentum going.

Reece explained: “Monday’s win has given us great momentum going into Saturday’s game against Nottingham Forest; the points return in the last two games has been very good.

“Now we have to try and kick on and take another three points, or a point, this weekend. We all want to win as many of the remaining games as we can and see what happens. If we can get more victories under our belt it would be great. I think getting into the top 15 would be a great achievement for us.

“Having played against Huddersfield for Rotherham, I was surprised to see where this team was in the table. I know how good match winners like Sean Scannell and Jacob Butterfield are and combined with goal-scorers like Nahki Wells and James Vaughan, it’s a recipe for success.”