Huddersfield v Rotherham: Town now trained in a new art by Wagner

The Terriers host Rotherham United looking to end a damaging run of four straight defeats at the John Smith’s Stadium.

Town’s haul of just nine points from 10 outings in front of their own fans is the joint second lowest in the Championship. Ironically, only the Millers in the second tier have claimed fewer on their own turf.

Wagner believes this poor return can be transformed via what equates to a drastic shift away from the norm of English football that sees players put through their paces in training at 10am the day before a game and then ordered to rest.

“This is our first night game together so we trained at night (yesterday) and then we train again in the morning,” explained Wagner to The Yorkshire Post when asked about an approach honed while working under Jurgen Klopp at Borussia Dortmund.

“We trained at 5pm on Monday, which is a little bit earlier than I wanted. I like to train at 7.45pm, the same time we play.

“But we had a community event, the carol concert in a church, where we like to go with the fans. So, we trained at 5pm and (today) is a chance to make the players sweat a little bit. And also allow us all to come together (at the club’s Canalside base) in the morning.

“We can give the players some new information about our opponent and have some food together before going to a hotel for a couple of hours. That will involve a bit of rest and then another last meeting before going to the stadium.”

Wagner’s tenure at Huddersfield has already seen his squad’s training sessions during the week switched to 3pm to mirror weekend kick-off times.

Such an approach may be alien to the rest of English football, but captain Mark Hudson believes the benefits of the new training schedule that Wagner has imported from Germany can already be seen in Town’s play.

“Football is about adapting and learning,” said the 33-year-old. “It is new but, even at my age, you can adapt and learn new things.

“I do believe we are looking fitter, especially towards the end of games. I am enjoying the schedule, which is totally new to me.

“The times have changed, but you have to be open to things like that as everyone can learn from new ideas.

“We are taking on board what the boss wants us to do. The game is about results and we do feel the way we are playing and our style is that the positive results could come.”

Wagner’s first four games have yielded just three points.

It is why Town host Rotherham sitting perilously close to the bottom three.

“Our home form has been disappointing,” admitted Hudson when asked about a 10-game run that has produced just two wins and five losses.

“We want to make the fans happy and we will try to put it right at home against Rotherham. Our home has to be our fortress.”

Another home loss tonight would see second-bottom Rotherham move level on points with Huddersfield. Despite that, Wagner insists no extra significance can be attributed to the match other than it being a Yorkshire derby.

“It is important but each game is important,” he said. “It was also important last Saturday against Bristol City, when we lost three points because of ourselves.

“The feeling in the squad is that we have to repair something. To do things better than we did.

“If we lose a game and we don’t know why then we have a problem. But we know exactly what we did wrong against Bristol last Saturday.

“We only have to change the things we did wrong and make them better. That is why I say we have to repair something, that is what we will try to do.

“The result was very, very bad in our last game, but there were positive things.”

Town’s defeat to the Robins saw Emyr Huws miss a first half penalty and Wagner confirmed yesterday that Nahki Wells will assume responsibility for spot-kicks.

“We do have an unnamed rule in Germany that a fouled striker shouldn’t take the penalty,” said the Town chief. “I will speak to Nahki about this.

“But, normally, Nahki will do that job.”

Huws is a major doubt after limping out of the weekend defeat with a hamstring problem.

With Dean Whitehead already out until the new year along with Philip Billing, Town’s resources in midfield are stretched.

Since arriving in England, Wagner has struck rigidly to a 4-2-3-1 formation, but there may have to be a tweak if Huws’s injury leaves Jonathan Hogg as the only speciality in that role.

Redfearn gives Millers’ 
derby viewpoint: Page 16.