Town Manager on Brentford draw
- Danny Cowley pleased with his side’s solidity
- Town’s Manager praised debutants
- Watch the full interview on #HTTV
Huddersfield Town Manager Danny Cowley was impressed by his team’s solidity and organisation following the 0-0 draw with a high-flying Brentford team at the John Smith’s Stadium.
Neither side could break the deadlock following a well-contested encounter in West Yorkshire. Danny was pleased with Town’s efforts against one of the better teams in the Sky Bet Championship.
“It was a well organised performance. It was never going to be easy; Brentford are one of the best teams in this league, they’re in really good form”, he explained.
“We defended collectively, everybody willing to put the team before themselves and it was an organised performance against the ball.
“First half, we weren’t able to make the first pass and the second pass. We’ve had a little bit of a difficult run so maybe a (lack of) confidence there but second half we saw the confidence come back.
“The beginning of the second half, particularly, we looked a real threat. We got Emile Smith Rowe into the game, he was able to link and bring our forward players into it.”
Danny gave debuts to three of his four new signings from the off, with Richard Stearman, Harry Toffolo and Emile Smith Rowe named in the starting XI before Andy King was introduced from the bench.
Town’s Manager was impressed with the performances from his debutants, including that of Stearman who played a key role in shutting the visitors out as part of Town’s defensive line.
“I thought he was flawless in his performance. I thought Jon (Gorenc Stanković) was unlucky because he’s done great with Christopher Schindler.
“We just felt we needed a bit more leadership. Jon is a young player himself, it’s the longest run (in the team) he’s had since he’s been at the Club.
“Young Harry Toffolo as well, he only played Tuesday and only trained with us yesterday so for him to come in and play to the level he did was great."
Following the addition of four new signings to his squad, Danny admits he had some difficult decisions to make prior to the game, with regards to his match day 18. He insists that the competition in the team will be a positive for the players going forward.
“This is probably the first match day I’ve actually had to leave people out and have those difficult conversations since I’ve been here.
“We haven’t been in that place but now we are and it’s good. The competition is good, they have to see it as their best friend because it will drive them every day in training.
“We had a really good week in training and it usually reflects on a match day. Sometimes just having the numbers, the players creates an enthusiasm and an energy.
“It’s been a good week; we’re pleased to take the point.”
The visitors were also seemingly pushing for a winner late on, with the Town fans inside the John Smith’s Stadium audibly helping to see the Terriers over the line in the closing stages.
“They stayed with us. They would have seen some tired bodies, some tired minds, they felt that, and they knew they had to play their part to get us over the line. That will give us some confidence.
“We’ll get more confidence by getting on the training pitch and working hard and that will start to build that confidence in one another and those relationships.
“We just ask the supporters to stick with us. We know this journey is going to be tough, we know it’s going to be bumpy.
“There’s going to be some ups and some downs, but I know that there is enough will between the dressing room and the supporters to get us through this difficult season.”
You can watch Danny’s full interview now on #HTTV!
