David looks back at his first six months at HTAFC
- David Wagner previews Brentford game- Head Coach looks back at his first six months at HTAFC
- Wagner looks at possible replacements for injured Nahki Wells
Huddersfield Town Head Coach David Wagner wants to finish the season on a high against Brentford on Saturday after a positive first six months in charge of the Terriers.
After arriving from Borussia Dortmund II in November, the German’s approach has brought fresh optimism to the Club and its fans and he reviewed his time at the Club with htafc.com on Thursday.
“We can be satisfied and happy with what we did in the past.
“We came here to try and keep us in the Championship, which we’ve done. We also tried to create a new identity to the Club and I think we’ve done this. We also wanted to create a positive atmosphere and bring a bit of excitement to Huddersfield and we are on the way. This is why we can be happy and satisfied with the last six months.
“However – and this is very important to me – everybody has the feeling that we are just on the way. We are right at the beginning and there will be more steps in the future. We have only just started this idea and although we have the feeling it is good, it is only the basis that we can push forward from.
“On one side we have very good momentum, but on the other side we are hungry and greedy enough to want more! The Club and the Chairman wants to push forward with more infrastructure and we want to push our squad forward as well.
“Because of all this, I think it is very important that we finish the season with some positive momentum against Brentford on Saturday.”
One player to thrive under Wagner’s leadership has been Nahki Wells, who was named the Club’s Player of the Year last Sunday. David had nothing but praise for the Bermudian striker – but still thinks there is more to come.
“Nahki is a great symbol for us as a team. He’s made some good steps in the right direction and we think his performances and quality are good, but we think he has more space to push forward and develop. He’s hungry to do so as well. Like the team, he is on the way – but he isn’t finished.”
However, Wells will have to be satisfied with 18 goals for the campaign as he is set to miss the Brentford game, as David explained:
“Unfortunately, he will be out on Saturday. He’s had a knee problem for the last four to six weeks and although previously he has been able to handle it in a good way with our medical staff, it has become worse in the last 10 days.
“I don’t think now is the moment to take a risk, so we have taken him out of training and he will miss the game on Saturday. After the off-season and holidays, I am sure he will be full of energy for pre-season. There is no reason for an operation; he just needs rest after playing nearly every minute of every game. This is a position where we haven’t had enough competition in the last six months, so we’ve not had the chance to give him a break.”
That means that one of Town’s attack-minded midfielders looks set to move into an attacking slot, with fellow forward Flo Bojaj sidelined with a hip injury.
“We have a few options. Harry (Bunn), Karim (Matmour) and Rajiv (van La Parra) have all played there in their careers – or maybe we could change our system. We will see what we will do. At the end I think we will find an interesting solutions, so we will see how it works.”
2016/17 Season Card holders can watch Saturday's game against Brentford for £10 adults & £5 U18s!
Tweets by @htafcdotcom
