Below are selected highlights from Thursday afternoon’s press conference ahead of Town facing Rotherham on Saturday afternoon. You can find the full audio above or in your We Are Terriers podcast feed.
Lee Grant
Katherine Hannah (BBC Radio Leeds):to pick up on a couple of the things you talked about after the draw with Wigan. Yeah, one of them was talking, what about a bit of nervousness? And I wonder, how on earth do you start to address that? What can you do as a manager to stop that collective nervousness that you spoke about?
You’ve got to be open as a group, that’s for sure, and you’ve got to acknowledge the things that impact the group’s demeanour, how they are. You’ve got to be up front with all those things, so you can’t shy away or shirk from whatever’s impacting the group, whether that be an internal or external source…you have to be able to front that up and acknowledge it before there’s any hope of getting to the other side of it.
KH: So how do you affect that?
It boils down to first and foremost, the work, and then beyond that, anything else really is just words.
So as much as we can acknowledge and as much as we can try to address the things that we think can impact positively or negatively, you have to be able to try and function and work within whatever context or dynamic you’re in. So that has to be the focus.
So as much as we can, we remove fog and we give clarity to the group and allow them to focus on their jobs specifically, which gives them the best chance of being able to perform them to the highest level.
KH: In terms of that clarity, how do you ensure that it isn’t over complicated? Obviously, they’re intelligent human beings, but sometimes do you just have to go, right, ‘do this, don’t do that’, make it that simple?
In some cases, yeah. In some cases you can be very prescriptive about the things you’re looking for, and you can be very prescriptive about the things that you really don’t want to see.
So absolutely, that’s formed part of the work we’ve done this week, as it does every week. We always discuss the things and the elements which we want to see, and a lot of that will centre around our principles, and when we’ve been effective, how does it look and how does it feel?
I’m really trying to help the help the lads feel the things that they feel when they’re playing well, and recreate the things when it’s looked how we want it to look, and it how it’s felt how they want it to feel. So we spent a lot of time this week making sure it’s that’s been the focus.
… Steven Chicken (We Are Terriers): You said, you said, last week, you look back at all the goals you conceded this season. I did the same thing yesterday, and the most common factors, to my eye, seem to be less tactical — it’s more about soft defending — lack of conviction on 50/50s — or playing players switching off of their marking. Does that match your analysis?
Yeah, it’s pretty good analysis, mate. I mean, it was really hard to to pinpoint big frailties in structure and shambolic moments of of shape and organisation. It was very much as you said, lots of errors, lots of things that felt preventable in that in the moment. I think some of our recent goals against very much fell into that column.
So yeah, we have to be we have to be more resolute, I think, with some of our individual defending and the accountability has to be really high, and concentration has to be really high. And I think we’ve we’ve shown we can do that. So we’ve got to find that level, collectively and individually.
SC: With that being the case, is it just part of the manager’s job that you’re the one that ends up taking the flak for it from the fans, or do you see it as part of your job to identify why that’s happening in the players’ minds and and put it right?
Yeah, only the second part of that question is relevant — as in, yeah, that’s my job. That’s my job.
It’s like, right, if that’s happening, what’s it a symptom of? Is it a symptom of that individual’s psychology? Is it a symptom of a group psychology? Is there a wider issue here? Is there something we’re doing in terms of preparation that’s allowing players to switch off in moments?
So we look at all of it and we assess all of that, and take all those things into consideration before we just point a finger and hang somebody out to dry. So we try very much to help the players work through these issues.
Of course, we have to highlight things. Of course, players have to understand when there needs to be accountability and responsibility taken, of course.
So yeah, it’s all of that. It’s making sure that we, we put the working on the training ground and in the classroom to help the players.
SC: Is there any injury news for this weekend?
Yeah, we lost Josh Feeney prior to the last fixture with a groin injury. So yeah, that was a real shame for Josh.
There’s a bit of a window, so it’s not perfectly clear whether that’s going to be a three week injury or or the upper scale around a five week injury — he’s already 10 days into that.
Now, I think he’s progressing really well. He spent the first week or so back with Aston Villa and he was back with us today, so we’ll keep an eye on that and see how he progresses. But like I say, there’s a bit of a window to see how long that ones going to be.
SC: Was that the one in first half against Northampton?
That one, yeah. And I mean, look, Josh is such a great kid. You ask him every 10 minutes, we’re asking him how that feels, and is he okay? And he’s just constantly giving you a thumbs up, and he’s not looking for a way out, which is obviously credit to him. And thankfully, he didn’t make the injury any worse. But, yeah, it was a nasty action which overstretched his groin.
SC: There was no Joe Taylor on Saturday either. Was that just a selection decision?
Yeah, just a selection decision.
SC: Is there any issue with Joe, or is it just that you had two strikers on plus one on the bench, tactical?
Yeah, yeah, just that.
SC: And where are we with players coming — Jack Whatmough, Marcus McGuane?
Jack Whatmough is not a good cycle of not being able to overcome a certain stage of his recovery, and he’s hit the ceiling on that a few times, and has had to step back from his from his last phase.
We seem to have hit the same hurdle again, where Jack gets to the right up to the last week, to four or five days away from being back with me and training, and he hits a similar hurdle. So yeah, not clear with Jack at all in terms of where he’s at, and not likely to be back training with me anytime soon unfortunately.
Marcus is slightly different in that we are hoping to have Marcus McGuane back with us in the next couple of weeks. So that’s that’s more positive, but that’s again, been a hell of a lot longer than Marcus or I or anybody would have predicted or wanted, so that’s been a huge frustration. But, yeah, we’re getting closer on on that one.
SC: I appreciate it’s probably been the last thing on your mind this week, but we are a couple of weeks away from the January transfer window. Are you able to tell us anything about the club’s intentions moving towards that?
Just that we’re in dialogue all of the time, and that dialogue has been ongoing, obviously, for the last couple of months, and will continue to be the same over the next few weeks, heading into what’s going to be an important phase for the football club.
It’s that Chris [Markham] now is is on hand to share some of the burden on that and help the club make some really, really good decisions, hopefully, moving forward. So, yeah, nothing to report other than that.
Leo Castledine
KH: You are top scorer at the moment. Is that a target you set for yourself?
Yeah, definitely. I’ve always loved scoring, it’s the best thing in football apart from winning, you know. When I came here, I definitely it was in one of my aims to try to get up as high as possible.
KH: As you say, winning is the most important thing. You’ve had these fantastic moments, but has that been slightly tempered by the fact that the overall result hasn’t necessarily come with it at the moment?
Yeah, of course. You know, it is tough at times. Like I said, I love scoring and I love helping the team, so it is difficult when, when I try and get myself happy about those things, and results don’t quite go our way. It’s just about finding the balance really.
KH: Can you put your finger on why things aren’t clicking at the moment?
I think that’s the problem, I don’t think we can really.
I think we’re doing the right things, we’re going through the right processes, training every day is good, even preparation going into games is good. I think it’s just…we can’t quite put our finger on on what it is this going wrong in the games.
KH: That must be frustrating.
Yeah, of course, especially as an attacking player, it is difficult, because I feel like at times we can be providing goals, but at the moment, it’s just we’re letting in too many, that’s our problem. So yeah, it can be frustrating.
But then at the same time, we take that on as a team. We don’t just take that on as attack and defence. It starts from the top and then finishes at the end, so it’s a whole team thing.
KH: You can’t fail to notice there is a bit of despondency at the moment amongst the fanbase. I think it’s just one of those things, isn’t it? You kind of feel like it’s back on track and then it’s two steps forward, one step back.
Yeah, and look, that’s understandable. We get it, we get how that’s happening.
The only thing we can say is to just stick with us. We know things aren’t perfect right now, but they never are in football. We know that the fans deserve more, so we can understand the frustration. It’s just sticking with us and and trusting that we’ll get it right.
KH: Town fans have never been backwards in coming forwards, and the choice of substitutions with you and Alfie being brought off against Wigan, it can’t escape your notice there were boos at that decision. What’s going through your mind as you walking off the pitch, and you hear that?
I don’t know, it’s difficult, you know. Obviously, as a player, you never want to come off. I’d play 100 minutes if I could, but at the same time, you have to respect the gaffer‘s decision. Maybe he sees things during the games that we don’t see. I’m never going to be one to start kicking off or whatever. I just have to trust the gaffer.
KH: Something that he touched on Lee Grant in his post match interview was he thought there was sort of a nervousness in that second half against Wigan. Is that something that you’re conscious of collectively and is it perhaps down to pressure of expectation?
Maybe, I’m not sure. I wouldn’t say so. I wouldn’t say nervous.
Perhaps I’d say…we were leading, and sometimes things can get get away from us. I think definitely after the goal, it becomes tough, because it’s more of a frustration, I’d say, than than being nervous, where we know we’re the better side, and we know we’re what we’re capable of doing.
So I think conceding those sorts of goals is what’s frustrating, and then yeah, maybe that nervous side sort of comes out towards the end of the game, where we need to find a goal and we need to do something, and especially like not to concede another…don’t lose the game, you know? So, yeah, I think that’s where it could come from.
KH: Something that’s occasionally levelled at Lee Grant is, is he over-complicating it? Are the players going out with too much information? What would you say to that?
No, I wouldn’t say that’s the case at all. Really, I’d say we’re all very on board with what we’re meant to be doing.
I wouldn’t say we’re all going out there with with loads of mixed messages and different signals and not not knowing what to do. We all know what the plan is and what the script is. I think it’s just not working as a as a collective right now, where we’re causing our own problems a bit too much at sometimes in games.
I don’t think the problem is us over-playing or whatever, because that’s how we play, that’s how we want to play, and that’s how we’ll continue to play. We’re not a team that’s ever going to just rock up and start booming it along down the pitch, because we’re not that kind of side, and I don’t think we want to change the aspect of our game. It’s just about keeping those fundamentals of going out and doing what we’re setting out to do, but then also not making the silly errors that we have been doing, and that’s really what’s been costing us the games.
… SC: I’ve looked through all of the goals you’ve conceded, and I appreciate that it’s not really your department, so apologies for putting you on the spot, because I feel like you’ve been doing your bit. But a lot of the goals, as you’ve touched on it, come from moments of inattention. It doesn’t feel like a tactical thing where you’re over committing or putting too many players forward. Is that fair to say?
No, yeah, exactly, and I think we all know that, which is why I think it’s tough to put all the all the blame straight away on the gaffer, because I think at times we know that a lot of the time it has come from us, from lapses in concentration and errors, which we will fix.
I know it’s hard for the fans to hear that we keep keep saying ‘it’s going to come, it’s going to come’, but that’s why I think we’re so positive that it will because, it’s not like there’s massive, massive flaws in our games we have to fix. These things are minor details, and I know it’s happening quite a lot and pretty consistently, but those aren’t things that are impossible to get right, so it will come.
