With pressers no longer being live-streamed. This season we intend to bring you the highlights of each press conference as they happen — this will be a rough summary with the full audio available above and in the podcast feed, with the weekly digest to follow on Thursday.
Lee Grant
If the transfer window shut tomorrow, are you happy with the squad?
Absolutely. That’s been one of the things I’ve most pleased about. We’ve been able to get most of our work done really early. We have 11 new signings and having them prior to the first game is incredible in terms of the work that’s gone on behind the scenes.
It’s given us more time together as a group and that’s really important at this stage. I’m hoping it’s the end of me having to take phone calls all hours of the day, but we’re in a good place.
Are we expecting any more incomings or outgoings?
We’re four weeks away from the end of the window so we can’t rule anything out. We’re in a good place but if someone becomes available who is really good for the group we’ll have a look at that. We’ve been alive to that and respond to that, but simple maths will tell you 11 or 12 went out the door and 11 are in the door.
There’s still three or four weeks to get the final picture of the group.
Do you know who’s starting on Saturday?
No — I’ve got a group who are champing at the bit. They’re all working really hard. The focus is on making everyone fit, ready and available, and hopefully the boys can keep making things as hard as they for me currently.
What’s the injury situation?
It wouldn’t have been the right thing to have Marcus McGuane in or around the game last weekend as he’d only been in the building I think 24 hours.
We want to have as many bodies available as we can for Leyton Orient, so some of boys who didn’t play against Burnley it was about making sure they were ready for the opening day.
Unfortunately Antony Evans has been to see a specialist with a knee injury and we’re looking at probably 6-10 weeks without Antony. It’s really disappointing for him after the performance and fitness levels he’d shown in the summer. It’s fortunate that it could have been worse and we’ve not lost him for a longer period of time, and we’re looking forward to having him back.
Expecting a tough promotion race?
I don’t think it will be any easier without Wrexham and Birmingham in the division. There’s teams in this division who would have something to say about that and the three coming down should be really strong. There’s been significant investment across several teams which will make it really tough.
For us, our goals internally are really clear. We want to push and be at the right end of the division and challenging these other teams as well. I’m really looking forward to it, I think it’s going to be really exciting this year.
Town are favourites for promotion - how do you see that?
This club has what is required to do it. We’ve got to work hard for it, we’re not owed anything, but we’re comfortable with the fact that we’re a good team and we want to be a good team. If people want to give us that moniker that’s great, but a ball’s not been kicked yet and I’m more interested in what happens on the pitch.
I’m excited for what the group are going to bring. The work we do down the road at Canalside, all the good work emanates from there. I’m excited to see it come to fruition and get a sense of who this group is, the characteristics and personality.
Is there a first choice between Taylor and May, is it a matter of rotation, can they play together?
Yes, yes and yes. Across the front line we’ve got a number of players who can play in a number of different positions.
Across the squad there will be some rotation and I want to have a look at everyone. We know every opposition can offer different challenges and one of the things we wanted this summer was to have different options to choose from for each game.
Might some of the other centre-forwards need to leave, or do they have a chance of a look in?
We’ve spoken to all the players and we feel there are one or two on different trajectories to the others. We want to make sure everyone gets what they need out the situation, and that needs to be a two-way thing.
Our door is always open if anyone feels they need to discuss anything, and I’m sure by the end of the window the picture will be pretty clear.
Are you happy with how the squad are getting along on the training pitch?
I’m so happy with how they’ve gelled. They don’t feel like they’ve been together five or six weeks, they feel like they’ve been together a long time, and that’s probably down to the kind of people who are in that group and who understand they need to be together to succeed. I’m really pleased with that.
I laid the gauntlet down for a couple of individuals who were already at the club and they’ve been tremendous. They’ve really taken on leadership goals within the group and the way they’ve stepped up, carried themselves and help the new guys integrate has been first class. That’s probably one of the keys as to why they’ve been able to gel so quickly.
We all want to get off to a good start, and getting an opportunity against a team who gave us a really tough afternoon back end of last season and who will come here full of confidence and freedom…yeah, what an opportunity. I said to the lads the other day we have to view this as an opportunity. The season’s not won or lost on game but same as Reading next week, it is important.
How have you enjoyed your first few months?
Yeah, I’ve really enjoyed it. It’s been busy, it’s not easy finding time for anything else, but to be honest that’s what I love and I’m enjoying throwing myself into every part of the job.
Putting together a training programme that I think will improve the players is exciting, but getting to deliver that on the grass and have a great staff to help you is the best bit. I love being out on the grass and then getting ready for the next day.
Proud moment to take to dugout on Saturday?
I’ll be proud but knowing how I am that won’t last long — it’ll all be about getting the team ready, battling with Richie Wellens from the dugout, then before I know it I’ll be coding the game and analysing it and having a meeting with the boys on Monday.
We’ll blink and it’ll be Christmas then blink again and it will be the end of the season — but I will try at some point on Saturday to take it in and enjoy the moment, but for sure I’ll be excited and I’ll be proud.
Is there now more of an acceptance of inexperienced coaches in managerial roles?
I think what’s happened is you’ve seen the success of lots of fresh-faced managers at Premier League and Championship level, and that spills over and owners look at it and realise it doesn’t have to be one way of doing things.
I think owners now recruit and do their due diligence, and the factors and characteristics they’re looking for have shifted. There’s more of a focus on what they want the team to look like, on top of the leadership and management and all the other sides of it.
How have the likes of Kieran McKenna shaped you over your career as a player and a coach?
It would be wrong of me to sit here and say there’s nothing I picked up under the last three years of working with Kieran, because that would be a total lie.
Kieran is a perfect person to learn from as a young coach in terms of his attention to detail and how he operates on the training ground, how he conducts himself with his staff, and what he demands from everyone, whether it’s groundsman, chef, owner, sporting director, the list goes on…the way he was able to shape and mould the football club was hugely influential on me.
I’d like to think some of his work ethic, process and attention to detail has rubbed off, and it’s been a real eye-opener for me to step into the world of Kieran McKenna. You quite quickly the realise the commitment, dedication and sacrifice that’s needed to work at that level. Maybe my coaches would be able to tell you better, but the same things you need to be here at Huddersfield Town right now are very similar.
It’s not just Kieran, over my career I’ve had some great coaches and mentors as well.
Do you need to be adaptable to succeed as a manager?
I believe you need to look at every game and the challenges the opposition are going to put on you, and not be too biased by whether you’ve just won or lost at the weekend.
Having a squad that’s deep enough to offer different solutions and characteristics is really important. It would be the perfect scenario for me if we can win a game and then I make four or five changes and win the next one as well.
