Town's Head Coach on the 1-1 draw
- David Wagner reviews Rotherham United draw- Town's Head Coach says he can 'accept the result'
- Wagner breaks down a clash of two styles on the pitch
Head Coach David Wagner was pleased to see his Huddersfield Town side come back from behind to draw 1-1 at Rotherham United tonight.
“I think it wasn’t one of the best football matches I have ever seen, but it was one of the best fights,” David explained after the game.
“We asked ourselves whether we were able to deliver the right fighting attitude and I think the lads did it today, so I was very happy and pleased with this.
“Hopefully our centre backs don’t have headaches after the game! They used their heads a lot today in this game, but this is exactly what their job is.
“The most important thing, which they delivered today, was to stay focused and concentrated from the first whistle to the last. If they didn’t for one moment, you can get a problem. They did their jobs from set pieces and throw-ins, which were the biggest threat.
“Of course, we were a little bit sloppy and made a lot of mistakes in our ball possession and first touch. To dominate more than we did – even though we had 65% possession – we could have been better with our first touch.
“At the end, I think we tried everything and showed a good fighting attitude to come from 1-0 down. When you are 1-0 down away at Rotherham it isn’t the easiest challenge on the pitch.
“I can accept this result and performance, even though we know it wasn’t one of our best days.”
The near-2,000 Town fans behind the goal thought their side had won it late on when Nahki Wells curled home from an acute angle, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
David continued: “I wasn’t able to see if it was offside or not from my position. It was a great combination from Nahki and Pato, when we had a good first touch, delivery and finish, but I have now seen the clip and it was offside.”
Neil Warnock has his team playing in a direct and effective style; one that Wagner admitted is tough to battle against.
“This is one style, which is different compared with ours. Rotherham has found a way that has been successful and although it isn’t the one I prefer, everybody has their own idea.
“It is difficult, because you know exactly what will happen but it is still hard to play against. Every throw-in is dangerous and set-pieces can always happen.
“We had to learn to handle the opponent that plays with this style and today we tried our best. I think we can make it better, especially in the first 15 minutes. You have to make sure you have a good transition on the counter-attack and we had a few opportunities today.
“We tried to prepare as good as we can for this game, but when you are on the pitch and the ball is more in the air it is something different. What really helps against this opponent is getting in front, which didn’t happen today.
“At the end, I think we deserved this point. I’m very pleased how we came back into the game.”
The Head Coach has already signed Chris Loewe up for next season and admitted it will take the likes of the Kaiserslautern left back a little adapting to combat teams such as the Millers, with that style of play not prevalent in the Bundesliga.
“I think they will be surprised how some games happen in the Championship, but they will be professional enough to adapt very quickly.
“They’ve seen a lot of clips when I meet them to prepare them for the British style, but to be honest there are not a lot of teams playing this style in the Championship. Ipswich plays a little bit like this team, but this is extreme.”
With three games of the season remaining, David wants to see his players take more steps forward after the one they did tonight.
“Today we took a step forward in playing a very physical game and showing a very strong fighting attitude.
“On the other side, we have a lot of steps to go to dominate this opponent and keep the ball better in order to create better chances than we did. We are critical enough with ourselves to know we have a lot of work to do.
“From my side, we are still at the beginning of our journey – which is exciting! We trust and believe in this squad.”
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