Five conclusions on Andre Breitenreiter’s winning start

Huddersfield Town came from behind to claim victory away to Watford thanks to Danny Ward's brace from the bench

1. Andre Breitenreiter already has Huddersfield Town fans onside

It’s been fun keeping track of the mood among the fans over the past ten days. The German’s appointment as Darren Moore’s successor was greeted first by curiosity, then by optimism. By the time Breitenreiter made his way over to the travelling fans at Vicarage Road to wave hello, that had risen to the level that many seemed ready to anoint him as the potential mastermind who can get Town back to the big time. All before they’d even kicked a Championship ball under his reign.

We can only imagine where the sentiment now lies, but we suspect that in some fans’ eyes they might as well remove the short bridge over the Colne that leads to the John Smith’s Stadium reception. Breitenreiter could simply walk across the surface of the water.

Silly as that may be, it’s also nice to see. In my five years covering the club full time, only Neil Warnock has been embraced with this kind of whole-hearted willingness from the fans to throw their lot behind the man in the dugout. The ‘we’ve got our club back’ sentiment may be nonsensical and overwrought (you may as well just say “I don’t like it when they lose but I do like it when they win”), but it’s important for fans of any club to have trust in the manager/head coach. It makes defeat easier to accept and victory all the sweeter, because your instincts were proven right.

As much as we may find fault with elements of the performance, this was just Breitenreiter’s first game in charge. As he himself pointed out at his press conference on Wednesday, we were never going to see the finished product so early on.

Yet victory was delivered nonetheless, despite Town having to overcome some adversity both before and during the game to do it. Town fans will be hoping the rest of this season will be that same story writ large under the new head coach’s guidance — and more importantly, have good reason to feel that way, notwithstanding their still-precarious position towards the bottom end of the table.