Professional approach pays off for Town

HUDDERSFIELD Town head coach David Wagner was pleased with the professionalism his side showed in their 3-0 victory over Altona 93.

Town travelled to and from Hamburg in a day on Sunday, picking up a 3-0 win in the process.

Laurent Depoitre netted a brace for the Terriers, with Abdelhamid Sabiri also getting on the scoresheet for the first time in his Town career.

And the boss was pleased with the manner in which Town secured the win at the Adolf-JagerKampfbahn Stadium.

“We said ‘come on, if we do this trip we do it properly,’” said Wagner.

“It makes no sense to travel over and then not use the time to play our game with high speed and intensity.

“They have done it so I am very happy with what we have got out of this day in terms of speed, intensity and as well our game both offensively and defensively, so it was a very good day for us.”

Town’s next test comes a week today with the Terriers taking on struggling West Ham at the London Stadium.

And Wagner is confident his team used the international break to their advantage, with Town looking to keep their momentum going and stretch their unbeaten Premier League record next week.

He added: “I think we used this time well.

“We will train and then the players have another day off and then we start our pre-preparation for the West Ham game.” ■■West Ham could welcome back injury-prone striker Andy Carroll when Town visit the London Stadium.

The former Newcastle United striker has been sidelined with a recurring thigh injury, with Andre Ayew selected to lead the line in his absence.

That decision from Slaven Bilic has not paid off however, with West Ham scoring two goals and conceding 10 in their first three matches of the season.

The London side sit rock bottom of the Premier League table having picked up no points so far, so the reintroduction of Carroll will come as a relief to the boss.

Bilic even admitted he was considering picking Carroll to face Newcastle in the Hammers’ last game.

Ahead of the game he said: “It’s very tempting to play him.

“If he looks to me fit enough, of course he’s going to be in the squad. If he doesn’t look fit enough he isn’t going to be in the squad - it’s that simple.

“When he is fit we all know he is a major player.”

The 6’4” forward is likely to get some minutes against Town, as may Michail Antonio, Manuel Lazini and Cheikou Kouyate.