The following are selected highlights of Martin Drury’s pre-match press conference ahead of facing Wycombe. You can hear the full thing, as well as Bojan Radulovic’s thoughts, on our podcast live feed or by hitting the play button above.
Louis Reynolds (BBC Radio Leeds): How’s George Sebine getting on? I appreciate there are probably some protocols to follow, but how is he?
No, he’s been good in himself. He’s recovered quite quickly from it. Obviously, as a young lad, we want to protect him a little bit and look after him, which we’ve done over the last few days. The medical team have been really, really good.
But no, George is in a good spot. We’ll make a late call on George and see where he’s at in terms of the game. Hopefully he’s OK, and if not then we’ll look towards Tuesday.
LR: And from what you’ve seen with him in the first team, how do you reckon he’s got on?
I think for a young boy, 19 years old, to have done what he’s done in such a short space of time — let’s not forget, not just at Huddersfield Town, but coming from non-league to professional football — I think the academy has done a fantastic job with him. Jon Worthington and everybody involved with the academy have done a brilliant job.
And when he’s come in with the first team, I’ve been really, really impressed, both with him as a human being and him as a footballer. We can see the qualities that he has, both physically and technically, and then his hunger and desire for the game, his willingness to learn and listen, every day has been top class. So yeah, he’s been a brilliant addition.
LR: How’s Ryan Hardie getting on?
Yeah, Ryan’s obviously in his rehab. It’s probably not settled as quickly as we would have liked, and probably as quickly as Ryan would have liked. He’s champing at the bit to get amongst it again.
Of course, he’s a big miss for us. He’s been brilliant around the place as well.
So we’re still on with that one. It’ll probably take a little bit longer, though.
LR: And Joe Low as well?
Again, Joe’s been brilliant in terms of his rehab, worked really, really hard, and Joe’s really close — really close. We’d like to have Joe back involved, whether that be this weekend or Tuesday. So yeah, credit to him, and again the medical team, for the condition he’s coming back in.
We had a session with him the day after the Leyton Orient game. Joe’s brilliant, both from a footballing perspective and in terms of his attitude towards everything. So yeah, he’s really, really close.
LR: Any fresh concerns after Easter weekend?
No, no. Alfie May is back amongst it. He had a problem with his foot, which has settled down. He’s trained this week and was excellent in training today, so Alfie will come back into the mix for the weekend.
LR: How do you reflect on those two games? Let’s start with Reading — starting at the back, a late point. How do you reflect on it?
Yeah, Reading was obviously the first game that we’d taken in Liam’s absence. We’d had a little bit of time to prep for that, so we felt going into the game that we were quite clear. We knew Reading were a good team, as we saw on the day and from the run that they’re on.
But I thought the way the players went about it that day, they were excellent, particularly first half. Second half didn’t look how I wanted it to look, we know that, but there were things we were able to understand from the game about exactly why it didn’t look how we wanted it to look, so that led us into the game on the Monday.
And two games in such a short space of time, again, credit to the players for how they turned themselves around in that amount of time. Obviously Monday took care of itself, and there’s a lot to say about that day.
LR: Talk us through that moment at the end at Leyton Orient from your point of view.
Yeah, look, it was a tight game. I don’t think we ever got the game on our terms in terms of how we wanted to play. We were hopeful going into it that we could make it look like the first half against Reading, but it’s different opposition, a different stadium, and obviously away from home, so there are some challenges within that for us.
Second half I felt we were much better than in the first half. I don’t think it was a lack of trying in the first half — the players worked incredibly hard in both halves. The data tells you that the difference in the second half was that we were a lot more connected, the distances between our players in every moment of the game, whether that was second balls landing for us or whether it was connecting passes in possession.
As the game went on, you’re pushing, you’re trying to get the goal, the game was tight. But fortunately for us, we’ve got such quality on the bench to come off it, including players that missed out. That’s where we’re at at this moment in time. We know we’ve got good players, and we know that in moments.
We said it before the game. I said it to the players in the hotel before we left: 11 players won’t win that game on Monday. We needed 20 players to win the game, and that’s what it took.
So from [Josh] Feeney going down in the warm-up and being injured, to changes on the bench, I thought from start to finish, in terms of togetherness and the collective spirit of everybody, and then obviously, as you all saw, Ryan Ledson comes on the pitch and does what a good leader and a good captain does. Big, big moment, big player, in a really big game for us.
So relief is one word, for sure, but also pleased for the whole group, because I feel that over the two games, four points is what we deserved, if not more.
LR: When you mention parts of games not looking how you want them to look, and a different level of opposition going into Monday, what were those things you didn’t like the look of? And how do you and Jon go about fixing them in a short space of time?
Well, if I’m going to be really open, if you look across the season, the group that was assembled in the summer were playing a certain style of football under Lee [Grant] and doing it really, really well initially — the way they were playing, dominating the ball, trying to move the ball up the pitch in quite a slow process but in a really controlled way.
That changed as the season went on, but you still had the same group of players. So then you’re trying to do something that’s not exactly the same as that, but a little bit more progressive. Depending on what players you have, that’s going to dictate the way you play football, right? So it’s not as simple as, ‘we want to play this way, so let’s go and do it’.
We have to look at the capability of the group and what suits that capability. And that was the first thing that I said to them when we first spoke in the meeting after Liam was off. We said we wanted to maintain all the brilliant things that Liam had put in place. We wanted to reinforce those things, and also look at one or two different ways on top of that.
Working with Liam, and knowing Liam’s beliefs and values, we want to ensure that we bring out the best of the capabilities of the players that we have. I felt the first half against Reading was what that looked like. We didn’t play short and slow, we didn’t play long and direct. I felt we played in a way where we tried to dominate the ball, dominate territory, and I felt that was a good example of what we wanted to look like.
But I also felt at Leyton Orient, when the game didn’t look like that, our players were able to mix it up and play a different style of football, and compete and fight and show spirit. I thought we did that more and more as the game went on, and hence why you get that little bit of fortune, of course quality as well, at the end of the game to get that goal.
LR: What does that say about the character of the group, that OK, it might not be perfect all the time, but you’ve still got those four points?
I think across the season the players, rightly or wrongly, have come under criticism. I think you can question every now and again whether the quality was there in certain moments, whether we executed certain things. I think those questions are fair, really fair, and supporters’ expectations of what they want to see are spot on.
But if you watch the game the other day, with maybe five minutes to play, we lose the ball in Leyton Orient’s half and I saw 11 players sprinting the full length of the pitch to get back. Sean Roughan gets across the box and blocks a shot that potentially could have meant we lost the game. I think that tells you something about the spirit of where they’re all at, whether they’re all in in this moment in time.
And if you watch the celebrations of both the players and the supporters when that goal went in, I think that’s a really good example of where everyone’s at mentally and psychologically. These players are all in. I see them every day in training and I can’t compliment them enough for the way they’re working.
We’re not going to get everything right they’re not going to get everything right — they’re human beings. But if we don’t achieve what we want to achieve, it won’t be for a lack of training, I assure you of that.
LR: Let’s say if the chips are down tomorrow and you can feel that anxiety creeping in — if you could speak to the supporters, what would you say?
I think first and foremost they’ve got every right to voice their opinion. The fans are unbelievable. The numbers they have, both home and away, are incredible for where we currently are as a club, and I think they are well within their rights to voice their opinions in certain moments.
What I would say is that in 15 years of coaching, I’m yet to come across any player that responds in a positive way to criticism, because they’re just human beings. It’s difficult.
So I would say: we need you. The players need you. When they hear that roar and you’re right behind us, it lights the players up. I see it in them, and they speak about it. They love it when the fans are behind them. When they’re not behind them, and they voice it, I’ll be honest — it hits you like a tonne of bricks. That’s the reality of it.
So I have respect for both the fans and the players. And I think what you’ve seen in the last couple of games, the fans have been outstanding. I think the players have felt that. The performances over these two games, albeit not perfect, have been full of energy, full of spirit, full of togetherness, and there’s been a real connection between the two.
Hopefully that continues. In these last five games, that’s going to be paramount in whether we get success or not.
Steven Chicken (We Are Terriers): Just going back to team news, if I can please — how’s Josh Feeney doing after he had to withdraw on Monday?
Yeah, Josh was unfortunate news. He’s got an issue that he’ll go back to Aston Villa to get treatment on, and he’ll probably struggle to play again for at least another five or six weeks, I’m led to believe.
So yeah, disappointing for Josh and disappointing for us, because he’s been brilliant. Whether he starts games or whenever he’s been called upon, he’s been a top, top lad. Loved working with him. So yeah, that’s disappointing news for everybody.
SC: How’s Jack Whatmough doing? I believe he had a bit of a niggle over the weekend…
Yeah, Jack had a little bit of a niggle, and it’s not as bad as we first suspected it might be. I’ll tell you one thing about Jack — he’s champing at the bit, even to come back before schedule.
This is me being really open: Jack came and said ‘just play me. Get me involved. Just get me involved’, even though he’s not quite ready. He’ll be back really soon.
Again, I think that’s testament to him and his character and what he wants to give the club. It shows that all the players are all in. So we’ll hopefully see Jack back soon. We’ll look after him over this weekend, make sure he gets the work that’s needed, and we’ll have a look at him on Monday.
SC: And Cameron Ashia? Jon [Stead] mentioned he’s seen a specialist. What’s the situation with him?
Yeah, unfortunately with Cameron it wasn’t good news either. I think it’ll be difficult for Cameron to be back on the pitch this season … It’s a groin issue.
I had a good conversation with Cameron the other day. Such a great character. He’s disappointed, of course. We lose someone who gives you that one-v-one threat in wide areas, those exciting moments.
So again, it’s a big loss for us. But we’ll look after Cameron and we’ll see where we are moving forward with him.
SC: Just going back to something touched on earlier with the crowd being behind the side: I appreciate circumstances have been difficult and it’s been a tough season in many ways, but you could see the message of support that the Cowshed had for Liam Manning last Friday, for instance, and the late goals, as you’ve mentioned, the celebrations for them — in a funny way, those are the kinds of things that can really galvanise a set of supporters and the team, isn’t it?
Yeah, I’d like to think so. We’ve certainly felt them over the last couple of games in particular. You’ve got to remember, I’ve been coming here many, many years.
I had a really, really close relationship with Carlos Corberan, so I was coming when Carlos was the head coach here.
The supporters and the fans were something that I took away from those moments when I came to watch games, alongside the football.
Exactly the same prior to that, when David Wagner was here. I used to come down and watch a number of games then as well, with different cultures, just looking and seeing what was going on. A big takeaway for me every time I came here was how big the fans and supporters are.
As I said before, if we give them something to cheer about, they’re unbelievable. And again, we’ve felt that in moments over the last couple of games. We’ve felt it in games prior to that, but probably not consistently enough. It’s worked both ways, I think, both from our performances and from the support. So hopefully, moving into these last stages of the season, there is a connection.
Jon’s said it quite a lot when he’s done the press conferences, and I think the fans have been right behind us.
For me, the moment the goal went in on Friday, and then the goal went in on Monday — the two late goals, as you say — that can generate a real connection between us, and hopefully that’ll continue for the last five games.
