Wagner: We believe we can turn it round
HUDDERSFIELD Town boss David Wagner praised Philip Billing and Juninho Bacuna in a new-look midfield against Newcastle United and asked his squad to regain their momentum.
With Aaron Mooy and Danny Williams sidelined for two months and 10 weeks respectively with medial knee ligament injuries, Wagner brought back Billing after a ban and gave Bacuna a first Premier League start.
And despite a 1-0 defeat which leaves his side still in the bottom three as they take on Southampton at home next weekend, Wagner was pleased with the Danish and Dutch influence in the centre. Phil was really good, he really was the man in the midfield who penetrated and really wanted to have the ball,” said Wagner, whose side have now lost four matches on the spin. “He has done another step, which was important without Aaron Mooy. I think Bacuna, too, for his first start has done very well - as the whole group played on a good level.
“You can’t not be on a good level if you have the ball possession we had and dominate an opponent like we have done. But, unfortunately, we were not clinical, there were not enough clear-cut chances and no end product and, at the end, one counter-attack cost us.”
Town had 74 per cent possession, and fashioned 15 shots against Newcastle’s eight, but the one that counted came from Salomon Rondon in the 55th minute. Wagner, whose side had taken seven points from the three games prior to this four-match losing streak, said of the result: “Harsh and disappointing after the performance the players have shown.
“I’m not worried (about recent results), it’s only disappointing. We lost our momentum with the Brighton game (the first of the four losses), which was very unlucky. We have spoken a lot about this and now it’s all about us to pick this momentum up again. I think the last four performances, where we conceded defeats, were all on a very good level.
“It’s all about us, only we can change it and this is the most important thing. We have to believe that we are able and that we are competitive and capable of doing it, that we can turn this.”