Huddersfield Town Head Coach Mark Fotheringham holds press conference ahead of Emirates FA Cup Third Round tie
- Preston North End vs Huddersfield Town
- Head Coach Mark Fotheringham holds press conference
- Emirates FA Cup Third Round
Town Head Coach Mark Fotheringham held his latest press conference at the Millers Oils High Performance Complex, discussing his updated team news and looking forward to our Emirates FA Cup fixture with Preston North End on Saturday 7 January, in a 12.30pm kick-off.
Fotheringham started his press conference by speaking about our two new signings and how they were fitting in with the group.
“Matt Lowton is a fantastic boy who has played at the top end of the Sky Bet Championship and in the Premier League for a number of years now.
“He’s a player that we need in the building, he can play in a number of positions, which is important, and he can also help set the standard in training as a leader for our developing players.
“Florian Kamberi is a very interesting player. I worked with him as a young player in Germany and I’ve followed his career since then.
“He’s creative, he can score and he can add to the squad as well as link the play and run deep, but he will press well up front too when he is back up to speed.
“Both players have come into the group and integrated brilliantly with the squad.”
Mark then touched on the recall of Kyle Hudlin from his loan spell with AFC Wimbledon.
“It’s good for Kyle to come back to his parent Club and train with the First and B Team, there is nobody like him in the league – we will just assess his progress as it goes.
“At the moment he is with the B Team upon his return, which is good for them as well because they will never have come up against a player with his physicality before.”
Our Head Coach discussed the importance of the Emirates FA Cup to the players, whilst also reflecting on the recent run in form after Christmas.
“The FA Cup is a really prestigious competition, and we’ve got to embrace that this weekend – it’s a Cup that you grow up dreaming of playing in.
“We’ve won back-to-back games now and Luton would have been the icing on top to make it three. That’s the goal now, to go on a run because you can’t be satisfied with just getting back-to-back wins for the first time.
“We’re climbing the table and putting pressure on the teams around us, and that’s good, but it’s where we finish at the end of the season that is important to me – we have to stay in the league.”
When asked about team news and an injury update, Mark said:
“Hoggy has been assessed and he’s fine – he’s been brilliant for me since I walked through the door and his performance levels have been brilliant after missing an extended period.
“It’s unfortunate he felt tightness against Luton so we took him off as a precaution, but he has a wealth of experience so he knows when he needs to come off.
“Danny Ward has also got an injury, which is looking like it could be lengthy with his hamstring and Lee Nicholls has a knock on the shoulder, which should settle down before the big batch of games coming up.
“Matty Pearson has been training again and he’ll play in a friendly game to work on his fitness because he’s been out for such a long time.
“Ollie Turton is back in training now too and looking really agile, so that’s a great sign as well.
“Tyreece Simpson has been training well and is chomping at the bit, he’s different to what we’ve got with his physicality – and he’s only going to improve.
“Simpson missed a long period, so he hasn’t played many minutes as he builds his match fitness back up.”
Finally, Mark looked ahead to tomorrow’s 12.30pm kick-off against Preston in the Emirates FA Cup after last weekend’s New Year’s result against Luton Town.
“The lads have responded really well to the Luton defeat; there’s been a real energy in training this week.
“We’re not happy having just won back-to-back, we’re not going to settle for that – we have got to keep improving and building, we’ve got half a season to go.
“Preston have got a strong and settled team, but everyone wants to do well in the FA Cup.”
Watch the full press conference via HTTV below.
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