David Wagner will not jettison system in wake of Huddersfield's dip

HEAD COACH David Wagner is preaching patience to Huddersfield Town fans worried about their slump in form, pointing to the struggles experienced last season by all four teams who qualified for the Championship play-offs as proof that the Yorkshire club can turn things around.
Huddersfield Town head coach David Wagner (Picture: Bruce Rollinson).Huddersfield Town head coach David Wagner (Picture: Bruce Rollinson).
Huddersfield Town head coach David Wagner (Picture: Bruce Rollinson).

Town have taken just four points from seven games to slip from top spot to sixth in the table.

If results go against Huddersfield tomorrow, Wagner’s side could fall as far as ninth.

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Despite that, their German coach is adamant that Town can work through their current travails and bounce back into form.

“After being here more than a year I have seen how even big, big clubs have dips,” he said.

Brighton had a dip at one stage last season, so did Hull City, Derby County and Sheffield Wednesday. Only (champions) Burnley maybe didn’t have one.

“This is why I have to say it isn’t really a surprise to me. I knew this could happen.

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“I would have been happy if it had not, but I knew it was a possibility.

“That is why I have always said, ‘It makes no sense to dream, we are here to work’.

“We want to change it as soon as we possibly can. That is our target. It is a lot more enjoyable in this business if you win football matches.”

Wagner also made clear yesterday that he will not be deviating from the gegenpressing system that has characterised his 13 months at the helm despite the recent run of results leading to shouts from the stand to get the ball forward quicker.

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“I have no understanding of someone who complains and is not patient about our style of play,” said the Terriers’ head coach. “This makes totally no sense.

“We are creating an identity that suits our players. Sometimes that is successful and sometimes unsuccessful.

“In the last (few) games, it has not been successful because of set-pieces and how we failed to deal with the counter-attacks. It wasn’t because of how we played football. With the ball, we played well.

“For me, it makes no sense to ask for a change of style or to go direct. We are still on the way to create an identity for the club.”

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Mark Hudson and Sean Scannell are out of tomorrow’s trip to Blackburn Rovers due to injury, while Tommy Smith is suspended after incurring his fifth booking of the season in Monday night’s home defeat to Wigan Athletic.

Scannell is out until next year with an ankle problem, while captain Hudson (hamstring) could be back in two to three weeks.