Huddersfield Town's Mark Fotheringham on his tough baptism and upping the ante in training with Terriers players

The Scot leads Town for the first time in Saturday's Championship game at third-placed Reading, who have picked up 12 points from four home matches this term.

The Terriers, yet to win on the road this term, will then face a midweek trip to Luton Town.

It promises to be a tough baptism for Fotheringham, but he is relishing the challenge ahead.

He said: "It's just the same at Hertha Berlin. If you lost your first game, you could have just packed your bags and gone home and you had 68,000 fans there!

"It was the same at Ingolstadt, the Audi club who are backed by the most powerful company in Germany. We just try to focus on the pitch and players and training on a daily basis.

"We went there (Ingolstadt) and had a great season and got promoted and I think we broke (Ralph) Hasenhuttl's record of 72 points in a calendar season. I really loved it and we created a family environment. You know what it is like in family environments, sometimes you can have your tiffs and fall-outs, but you have just got to put it to bed, but focus on the task in hand and that's what I have been doing here."

Ahead of final preparations for the weekend trip to Berkshire, Town players have had five training sessions in the previous three days, with midfielder Duane Holmes admitting that the intensity in training has gone up.

Fotheringham is certainly making no apologies for that and says that the players he has inherited has responded well to his demanding regime thus far.

The 38-year-old, who is back in football after a spell as assistant to Felix Magath at Hertha, added: "We have had five sessions in three days and the guys have worked really hard.

"We have done a lot of good work on the pitch and the good thing for me is that the players have shown a really good commitment to the training because there's been sessions in there which have been very intensive as you would expect.

"The guys have taken it on board and given me everything and look very focused.

"I am probably a bit hoarse because we have had five sessions in three days! But I have really enjoyed it."The worse thing out of football is when you are missing the training pitch so much and the big thing for me is being out there on the pitch with the guys.

"It is the best job in the world, I always say and I am looking forward to building relationships with the players and I think I have engaged well with them and the staff."

Fotheringham's first game in charge on home soil is a Yorkshire derby against Hull City on Sunday week."