Robins boss reveals side were struck by illness before game
take care of the ball.
“He never panics and I think he played well.
“[He played] more than I thought. I didn’t think before the game he would play 90 minutes, but this is what he has done and fitness-wise he looked good as well.”
Puncheon was the second player to sign for the Terriers this month, with the 32-year-old following Tottenham Hotspur youngster Jaden Brown to the John Smith’s Stadium.
But Wagner was coy when asked about further incoming transfers in January, suggesting Town would have to be patient in order to bring in reinforcements. He said: “Theoretically
It was a tight game and maybe we had better opportunities in
the box
this is correct [Town being able to bring in players]. I have no idea, we will have to see.
“Everybody knows the circumstances we have at our football club – that we financially are not at the top of the hierarchy.
“We will see what we can make happen and what we cannot make happen.”
When asked whether linked Sunderland striker Josh Maja was on his wish list, Wagner replied: “I don’t like to discuss any individuals because we will then maybe sit here for a longer period.” BRISTOL City boss Lee Johnson revealed that his Robins squad had been severely struck by illness in the build up to their FA Cup third-round clash against Town on Saturday.
The former Barnsley manager explained that four or five of his firstteam squad were unavailable for the clash due to the bug, which forced the 37-year-old to rethink his starting XI on a number of occasions this weekend.
But the chopping and changing did not seem to affect the Robins, who claimed a 1-0 win over Premier League Town at Ashton Gate, condemning the Terriers to a ninth successive defeat in all competitions.
After the home side’s victory, which was secured by a second-half Josh Brownhill strike, Johnson said: “We’ve got people going, that’s why I’m proud of their performance.
“There’s four or five in bed, ill. Even two or three of the subs were never going to the come on.
“It was a mad 24 to 48-hour bug that everyone had. It was really bad actually. Baker was starting but pulls out in the morning, Pack was in bed, they’ve all had it. So we’ve done well. I had to change the shape, which was a pain, to be honest. We had to protect the players that needed protecting.”
The boss hinted that one of his starting XI that took on the Terriers had already overcome the bug, with Johnson revealing later that centreback Adam Webster had been struck down by the illness earlier than some of his team-mates.
He said: “I think he lost four kilos – that’s half-a-stone in weight. So he’s done really well to do the 90.
“It was almost premeditated to do Webby one half and [Tomas] Kalas the other half, but Webster had it earlier so he had more recovery time.”
On making his team selections around the illness, Johnson added: “Lloyd Kelly wasn’t in the squad until Baker went down a couple of hours before. We couldn’t bring anyone else up because all our loanees had played in the FA Cup and were cup tied.
“Sam Pearson came up and then Baker went down, and it was a case of who do you call up?”