David looks ahead to the clash with the Millers
Club News
WAGNER: WE HAVE TARGETS ON TUESDAY
14 December 2015
- David Wagner previews Rotherham game
- Head Coach sets targets for Tuesday night
- Wagner discusses injuries & individuals
Huddersfield Town Head Coach David Wagner met the press on Monday afternoon to discuss Tuesday night’s Sky Bet Championship game at home to Rotherham United.
The match comes on the back of Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at home to Bristol City and Wagner is keen for his side to remember the good and bad points from the game.
“The result was very bad, but there were good things on Saturday. After conceding a set piece goal, missing a penalty and conceding another set piece, I’m not sure most teams would still play a second half like we did on Saturday.
“The fitness has also gone up in the last five weeks too. They are positive things.”
However, the Head Coach was unhappy with the concession of the second Bristol goal:
“I have to say that the first on Saturday was a very good delivery; very difficult to defend. Sometimes you have to say the opposition did well.
“The second one I am not happy with, because this exact movement from the set piece was something we spoke about in our video meeting. We scout our opponents and have all the information we need. Everybody was prepared for exactly this situation and this ball was very easy to defend, but in this moment we were not ready.
“Mistakes happen. They are part of the game, but hopefully we will not do it again. I have to accept this and we have to move forward.”
Both Emyr Huws and Nahki Wells went off with injury at the weekend and Wagner said a decision on their availability will be left as late as possible.
“Right at the moment I am not sure if Emyr is available for Tuesday. We will see what happens today in training and tomorrow in the morning, when we train again. I haven’t seen him yet today or spoken with the physiotherapists. This will be a decision we have to make shortly before the game, but hopefully he is OK.
“It is the same for Nahki (Wells). Maybe if I had to say, Nahki has a better chance that Emyr – but it is open for both.
“Lynchy is a few steps ahead of Elliott (Ward); I think he will be with us tomorrow. I didn’t take him in the squad on Saturday because I didn’t want him to lose a training day. Everybody knows he is a very important player for us if he is fit.”
With Dean Whitehead also missing with injury, Wagner confirmed that Jonathan Hogg will start a second successive game in midfield:
“For Hoggy, it was OK for his first game in a long time. He will, of course, develop and he has to do that, like we all do. For sure, if he is fit – which it seems he is – he will play tomorrow from the beginning again.
“He is an experienced player and we need the best performance he can give us. He is able to play better than he did on Saturday, but we all are.
“It is very important that you have somebody in that position who can defend, hold the position, keep the balance and keep the game quite simple. Your player needs to do the simple things; not the special things. Deano (Whitehead) did this well in my first three games and Hoggy is on the way; I’m sure he’ll make another step tomorrow.”
Emyr Huws missed a penalty at the weekend and David left the press in no doubt over who will take the next spot kick:
“If Nahki is on the pitch and is healthy, he will take it. I haven’t spoken to him yet, but I will now. Normally I am not a fan of saying someone has to take the penalty because nobody knows what will happen in the game, but Nahki will be our first one.
“In Germany there is an unwritten rule that a fouled striker should not take the penalty, so that is the reason for Saturday.
“The penalty miss was a big moment in the game on Saturday, but we had enough chances afterwards to get some points.”
One player to impress from the bench at the weekend was goalscorer Harry Bunn and Wagner admitted he is in contention to start against the Millers:
“He is one of the players I have in my mind for a starting position tomorrow.
“This is the first week where we have a Tuesday game and we need each player in our squad. We always have to make sure we have players on the pitch who are fresh, so it could be that we could make some changes to our XI.
“I like to have players on the pitch who are as fresh as they can be and there were players after Saturday who, in my opinion, are not fresh enough to start the next game. This is why we have a squad with good quality.”
Another player who has a role to play is Ishmael Miller, who has emerged from the bench in the last two fixtures.
Wagner continued: “He is a player who can give us something special because of his body shape. He is one of our tallest players too.
“I think the game on Saturday was one of the first where the substitutes gave our game something positive. This was very good and hopefully will be in the future; I was very satisfied with it.”
On Tuesday night’s opponents, David explained:
“This is a team with a very good fighting spirit, but if we are able to fight for each ball I am sure we are able to win this game.
“A derby can be a bit more special, but this is nothing different than the past. The biggest interest for me is about my squad; not the opponent. We respect them and know everything we need to about them, but I’m more interested in my squad.”
You can watch Town play Rotherham on Tuesday night for just £10 at the gate!
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