Town Head Coach André Breitenreiter discusses his plans for the upcoming international break
- Head Coach André Breitenreiter on his plans for the international break
- Breitenreiter discusses what the squad can expect over the next few weeks
- Keep up with the Terriers on international duty by clicking HERE
We may all call it an international ‘break’, but this month’s gap in the EFL Sky Bet Championship calendar will see Terriers Head Coach André Breitenreiter putting his squad through their paces to hone the fine details they need for the end of season run-in.
Town’s season will resume next Friday (29 March) when Coventry City visit the John Smith’s Stadium - the first of five games in the space of 16 days with Stoke City (A), Millwall (H), Preston North End (A), and Bristol City (A) rounding off a busy spell of fixtures.
With the fixtures coming as thick and fast as that, this couple of weeks on the training pitch at the MIllers Oils High Performance Complex will be particularly valuable to the gaffer and his side to fine-tune their performances.
André explained his plans for these couple of weeks, saying: “It’s a good time to recover, but also to train in details.
“It’s the last time this season to have a break because we have many, many games in April, then one or two in May, so they also need a little break to stay fresh in their heads – but also good training in details to make the next steps in tactics.
“It’s not possible to get them fitter now. We’ve had a situation where many players were out injured over the whole season, but that is the next step for summer.
“Now we have to live with this, but we’ll concentrate on details to find the right way for the plan on the pitch and to create a good atmosphere as well.
“This will be happening in the international break.”
André is also keen to take the opportunity to get to know his playing squad even better over this more extended time on the training pitch.
“I can tell you that I have so many talks every day [with the players] – when I go to bed at night I think English!”, he laughed.
“It’s really exciting and I’ve spoken every day to many players. It’s very important for me to have a connection to the players and to understand their private life, and to give them some help because of my experience also as a father.
“That’s important but it’s normal for my job as a manager. I never have a distance from the staff members or the players, but I can also make very clear decisions. I’m very direct when it’s necessary, and I hope they like this because I give a lot but then I expect a lot.
“This is my way of coaching teams and I can say it was really successful in the past. I’ve found my way in this style.
“In the international break we will have more talks and maybe there will be the chance to get to know them better.”
Finally, the two weeks away from Championship action could be useful in helping several players to get important miles under their belts ahead of the final run-in.
André was particularly asked about the club’s January arrivals: Rhys Healey has been sidelined since February with a groin issue but returned to training last week and is hoped to be available again after the break, while Radinio Balker and Bojan Radulović have been in and out of the side through various combinations of illness and niggling injuries.
Our Head Coach is excited to see what kind of impact those players can make once able to start playing more regularly, though, saying: “They signed in January and then we’ve had injuries. It’s football, it can happen.
“The situation of the players is not easy: they want to have a good start, but most of them didn’t play for a long time. The season ended in Finland in October; Radinio didn’t play so many games and then you come into the Championship, which is a hard league, intensive for many games.
“We have to make things clever. We can’t train like I’m used to because of the injuries, so now we have to stay in the league and then with a pre-season we can start like I’m used to.
“I want to make them fit and build up a structure and a playing philosophy, but now we have to do the right things for the team in this moment.”
Find out how you can keep up with the Town players who have been selected for international duty this month by CLICKING HERE!
