Stankovic ‘showed quality’ in stopping Wolves
TOWN boss Jan Siewert insists he has not given up on Premier League survival after his side’s 1-0 home win against Wolves.
Steve Mounie struck in stoppage time to clinch the Terriers’ first win since November and their first points under Siewert, who lost his first four games in charge.
Town, cast adrift at the foot of the table after registering one point from their previous 14 matches, are now 11 points from safety with 10 games to play.
“I told you right from the begin- JAN Siewert has explained the key role played by Jon Gorenc Stankovic in Huddersfield Town’s long-awaited return to winning ways.
The 23-year-old Slovenian made only a second Premier League start of the season in the 1-0 win over the Molineux men.
But it wasn’t at his accepted position of centre-back, it was as a defensive midfielder.
So why did the new head coach - who made eight changes to the starting line-up and spared only Jonas Lossl, Christopher Schindler and Jonathan Hogg from the team which started at Newcastle – opt for Stankovic to anchor his midfield?
“I said right from the beginning that I needed the training time to see how the players behave on the pitch,” commented Siewert, who saw Steve Mounie grab a stoppagetime winner at the end to delight the Town fans in a crowd of 22,714 (2,165 from Wolves).
“I knew that Jon is a central midfielder but with a defensive thinking, and it was important because Wolves are really a threat in transitions. My big compliment to the Wolves manager is that it’s not easy to play against them because of the two strikers, they are always a threat in behind.
“So we knew we needed a stable defender there and Jon showed he can do this. He has quality.”