Huddersfield Town caretaker boss Jon Worthington on 'exciting appointment' of Andre Breitenreiter and his own future - plus an update on Michal Helik ahead of Hull City game

JON WORTHINGTON has hailed the ‘exciting appointment’ of new head coach Andre Breitenreiter - who he plans to speak to on Friday night ahead of his final game in charge as caretaker boss against Hull City on Saturday.

The German, 50, arrives in the UK today and will official begin work next week after signing a two-and-a-half year deal – amid rival interest in his services from clubs in Germany and Turkey.

The former Schalke, Hoffenheim and FC Zurich chief will watch Saturday’s game from the stands against Town’s Yorkshire rivals Hull City at the John Smith’s Stadium.

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Worthington has presided over three very positive performances thus far, alongside six very welcome points in victories over Sheffield Wednesday and Sunderland, which have pulled Town five points clear of the relegation zone.

Huddersfield Town caretaker manager Jon Worthington during the Sky Bet Championship match against Sunderland. Picture: Richard Sellers/PA Wire.Huddersfield Town caretaker manager Jon Worthington during the Sky Bet Championship match against Sunderland. Picture: Richard Sellers/PA Wire.
Huddersfield Town caretaker manager Jon Worthington during the Sky Bet Championship match against Sunderland. Picture: Richard Sellers/PA Wire.

He will return to his role as academy boss following Saturday’s White Rose derby.

On Breitenreiter, Worthington said: “I think it’s a really exciting appointment. I think he’s got a proven track record and is extremely experienced. It’s really positive.

"I’ll go back into my academy role and just slip back into that, really. That’s a really exciting role with the progressions and investment into the academy and plans for next season."

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On whether he has had a chat with the new man in charge yet, he continued: “We’ve not met yet, but I think he arrives this evening and we’ll definitely be meeting up and having a conversation fairly soon, hopefully.

“For me, it’s been easy (to not be distracted). Nothing has changed in terms of the preparation of players and getting them physically ready to go again on Saturday and that’s all we’ve been doing and all our focus has been on that.

"We’re determined to go into the game with a really positive mindset again like the previous three games and hopefully win the game. The players are really focused.”

Worthington reports no fresh injury concerns from Wednesday’s win over Sunderland, with key defender and top-scorer Michal Helik continuing to be assessed after missing the last three games.

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Worthington said: “I think everyone is good and the squad is really healthy at the minute and we’ve loads of fantastic options and we’ve really positive in terms of where the squad is currently.

"There’s a couple that are close (to returning). Michal Helik has been dogged a little bit with this knee injury, so he’s probably one who is fairly close and in and around it, so we’ll wait and see.”

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