Town legend on the new Head Coach of the Terriers
- Mark Lillis hails impact of David Wagner
- Academy Manage 'looking forward to the future'
- Lillis discusses importance of results in development
Academy Manager Mark Lillis says he is ‘looking forward to the future’ at Huddersfield Town following the recent appointment of new Head Coach David Wagner.
Lillis, 55, is the man at the top of the Academy setup and hailed the early impact the arrival of Wagner has had at the Club when speaking to htafc.com earlier today.
“It is a pleasure to come into work in this environment, which is what you need at a football club. You need a good environment and good people, with everyone sticking together.
“We are all together at PPG Canalside, talking to each other every day. That is fantastic for an Academy Manager and the Academy in general. We are ‘One Club’ and I am looking forward to the future and working with David.
“He (Wagner) has been excellent; he has watched training a lot and his style of play fits brilliantly with the style that we have been playing in the Academy for the last three and a half years.
“You have got the likes of Duane (Holmes), Phillip (Billing), and Flo (Bojaj) who have stepped up and are training with the First Team every day. Our goal is to produce players that can play in the First Team week in and week out and that is what we are striving for every day. As part of that development, you can’t beat experience in the First Team setup.
“They are still involved in the Under-21s and it has been a boost to all the young players, but I also stress to them every day that they have to keep their feet on the floor.
“As a player you have got to want to do the best on that training ground and that is what we have been preaching to the players. Even if you are not in the First Team training session, he came come over and watch and you have got to be the best you can be. That’s the way we work here and it is the way we have always done things. As a player, I thought that way.”
The hard work put in on the training pitch has translated into results for Town’s Academy teams once again, with the Development Squad impressing in particular.
Lillis concluded: “The Under-21s have won 10 on the bounce, which is fantastic, and we have now got a reputation amongst Academies where they want to come and beat us. That comes naturally when you have won the league a couple of times and a couple of cups.
“The focus is on developing the players, but if we can win as well that is fantastic. Ultimately when you get into the First Team you have got to win games and we are trying to teach them that.”
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