Below are selected highlights from Wednesday morning’s press conference. You can find the full audio above or in your We Are Terriers podcast feed.
Lee Grant
BBC Radio Leeds: I’ll just start with the team news and on the injury situation with Joe Low first?
We’re going to give Joe as much time as we can, I think that’s probably what we will do. Obviously, we haven’t got a great deal of time between games, but in terms of making sure we give Joe every chance possible, we’re going to do that. That’s where we’re at with Joe.
Everybody else is as it was really.
The same as everybody else at this stage of the season, with games thick and fast, we have a few tired bodies, of course, but we’ve just got to make sure we we get the training right and recovery right between games. But yeah, we’re OK.
RL: What’s the nature of Joe’s injury?
Fatigue, the same as everybody else, and he was tight leading into the game. So like I say, we’ve got to make smart decisions, and we got to see where we’re at with him.
We’ve also got to try and take longer term view, as we do with everybody, as well as looking at the here and now. But the here and now for us is really important, so we’ve got to weight all those factors in.
RL: Is there any you’re expecting to be back in the next month or so?
I’d be disappointed if we don’t have within the next four weeks Mickel Miller fit, Marcus McGuane fit.
I’ve said previously, Jack Whatmough’s situation is going to take him longer. It’s been a really challenging period for Jack, so we’re not expecting him back in the next few weeks.
Josh Feeney, we should have available to us within the next week to ten days.
So we’re heading in the right direction on a few. We’d like to have Herbie Kane ready within the four week period as well.
So yeah, there’s a few pushing so we’re we’re doing okay, and there’s a few moving in the right direction.
RL: The January transfer window is upon us, or just about upon us as well — are you expecting a busy month?
I don’t know it’s probably the best answer, not that I don’t have an idea of what I want to do or where I want it to get to and how I want it to look at the end — I have a very clear idea of that.
Myself, Chris [Markham] and Jake [Edwards], we’ve been in conversations for a good while now around how we would like that to play out.
But of course, some of it is out of our control, and not all of it is straightforward. That’s probably the two bits I’m being realistic about. So I expect the squad to look slightly different by the time we get to the end of January , but not by loads.
So that’s really where I’m at with it. I think there’s room for us to adapt — but I have to say, I’m just as excited about having the boys fit as I am about anything else. So my focus right now really is on everybody that we have in the building, and I’ve been really clear about since the day the window shut in the summer.
Everybody that we had in the building is everybody that we wanted in the building. And my focus really is on those, those boys, and our opportunity to keep working and keep moving in the right direction.
RL: So as you’re aware, are there any talks ongoing currently?
No, no.
RL: Outgoings-wise as well, do you expect any activity in that regard?
I think we have to be open to it. So that’s that’s where I’m at, and I think we have to be open to it. We have to be open to the fact that with a squad the size that we have, if players aren’t getting the minutes that they want, we’ve got to 1) respect their wishes, and 2) also help those players continue their development, and that is one of the reasons that I’m here, which is to help players develop and be better for the football club.
Now, not everyone is going to get the opportunity to do that here for us this season. So as we have done with young Tom Iorpenda…Tom’s best opportunity this year is to be elsewhere (on loan at Notts County), getting loads of minutes and helping his development for the football club and for him personally.
So yeah, we have to look at that, and that’s a case by case basis.
RL: Leo Castledine is still a player that’s in the forefront of a lot of people’s minds, and the situation regarding him, and speculation surrounding what Chelsea might want to do with him…have you had any more indication as to what the state of play is?
No, none, none. And as I said before, I’m really relaxed about that. Anything that’s external to my control, I don’t spend any time worrying about.
So it’s all very, very clear for me: Leo is with us, getting exactly what we set out to do, and he set out to do, at the start of the season. So there isn’t even a conversation to be had on that one.
Is there a level of it? You’d rather know? Earlier than rather later, though, when it comes to him.
… We Are Terriers: As much as you can see the performances have been a lot better and the commitment has been a lot better the past few games, it also looks like the players are enjoying their football a lot more the past few games. Obviously that’s easier when you’re winning but is it important to have in the squad?
Yeah, and not just [celebrating goals]. I think if you’re watching really closely, you’re seeing players celebrate blocks. You’re seeing Lee Nicholls put demand on people and give them the respect that’s due when they do the right things in front of him.
So all of those bits, they add up, they add up, and they’re adding up right now to what we’ve seen in the past three games for us in particular, which has been really good on both ends of the pitch.
There’s a a real hunger and determination to protect and be there for each other on both sides of the coin again, so we’ve got to continue to see that, and that will be really tested up against Lincoln on New Year’s Day.
