David reviews a disappointing end to the 2015/16 campaign
- David Wagner reviews the defeat to Brentford- The Head Coach says 'the tank was empty'
- Wagner looks ahead to a busy summer
Huddersfield Town Head Coach David Wagner was disappointed with the way his side ended the 2015/16 Sky Bet Championship season.
The German saw his side beaten 5-1 by the rampant Bees, with David describing the game as one too many for his players.
“We have to be honest with this game today and say we struggled more or less from the first second,” David told htafc.com.
“We tried to work and be a competitor and we got the equaliser, but that was more or less everything we did.
“I think we were too tired today; the tank was empty. We have to accept that Brentford was much stronger than us. We worked as hard as we could for an hour, but afterwards this wasn’t possible. The goals we conceded were too easy, but Brentford totally deserved this result.
“It shows everybody how difficult it is to get results in the Championship and that we have a lot of work to do. In our style, we have to be fresh and focussed and I think this showed how small our squad is.”
David explained that the one positive he saw from his side came from Dutchman Rajiv, who worked very hard as a striker in Nahki Wells’ absence through injury.
“Being honest, there was one position where I was satisfied today and that was our number nine.
“Rajiv van La Parra did well; he was dangerous and showed a great working attitude. I was pleased with his performance. If everybody was able to show his performance, maybe we would have got a better result.”
Wagner also reserved a few words for 22 year-old goalkeeper Lloyd Allinson, who made his professional debut as a 15th minute replacement for the injured Jed Steer.
“His professional debut didn’t come in the best moment.
“It is never easy to come into a game cold from the bench. He tried his best and the goals he conceded, barring maybe one, were one-on-one situations when we started to play for offside, which we had never spoken about doing.”
Despite today’s setback, David was keen not to let the final two defeats overshadow the progress that his squad has made during his initial six months.
“We have to be honest and say our end was disappointing, but I think it will help us to make the right decisions in the off-season.
“We’ve worked very hard in the past and there is more to the time we’ve had than the last two games, although they are part of it too.
“The decisions we will make in the future do not just depend on the last two games; it depends on the whole time we’ve spent together.
“Everybody – myself included – thinks we have a good base to push forward from, but we also know we have a lot of work to do.”
Now David is prepared for a summer of hard work ahead of the start of the 2016/17 Sky Bet Championship campaign.
“We will push this Club forward in a lot of different areas.
“The squad will get a facelift with some new signings and we will try to develop the interesting players we have; we will bring high quality backroom staff in and we will push the infrastructure forward in the off-season too.
“In my opinion, these small pieces will help us make a step forward. This is our target for next season.
“Now everybody needs a holiday to reset and refresh, so they are full of energy when we start pre-season. We will be together on Sunday to make a last check and everyone will receive his off-season program. We will reflect on the last six months a little bit and then look forward.
“We will be back on 24 June, when we will start to prepare the whole group for the kick-off of the new season. We have to make sure we are the fittest team in the Championship.”
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