‘COWLEYS GAVE US CHRIS OF LIFE!’
We’ve gone back to basics, says Schindler
AT THE start of the season, Christopher Schindler had never heard of the Cowley brothers, but now the Huddersfield captain is at the forefront of their revolution.
After taking just one point from their opening six Championship outings under the stewardship of Schindler’s German compatriot Jan Siewert and caretaker boss Mark Hudson, the Terriers board rolled the dice and gave the former Lincoln bosses an opportunity at the John Smith’s Stadium.
A pair of defeats followed in their opening two games in charge, but since then, Town had lost only once in their last ten ahead of the weekend’s trip to Bristol
City.
Buffer
That run handed them a two-point buffer from the relegation zone, as well as Championship Manager of the Month honours for Danny Cowley in October.
And though he admits that there is still plenty of work to do as they continue to battle for safety, 29-year-old Schindler has been completely converted to the ways of the Cowleys.
“I didn’t know anything about them at all,” he admitted. “I heard that they did a tremendous job (at Lincoln) but they had never been on that level of coaching.
“It’s hard for a person who was not in the atmosphere we were in during the last two years to understand what was happening.
“In tough times you try to push even harder. It’s not even that we drew a lot of games, we lost most of them.
“There was a lot going on and we thought we needed a really positive start to the season, but it was the other way around, which made it so much harder because we automatically got back into the thinking process of worrying that we still can’t find a way of winning games, like in the Premier League.
“It’s a dangerous situation, but it was almost like a reset when Danny and Nicky came in. We went back to basics and had a framework where everybody felt comfortable.
“We are still in a difficult spot and have some way to go, but it seems that eight weeks ago it was a different group of players on the pitch.”
The respect between management and captain certainly seems mutual. Schindler has drawn public plaudits from Danny for the reserved form of leadership that he exudes.
And the German, who was handed the armband by Siewert back in March, is acutely aware of his untraditional approach to the role.
Important
“It’s very important that you stay true to yourself,” continued the softly-spoken centre-back. “You have to be the personality that you actually are – you can’t play a role because then nobody believes you.
“I have the feeling that with the attitude I have I can help the team, especially setting the standards in training and the games, to try and perform consistently on a high level.”
Ten-man Town battled to a point against high-flying Swansea in the midweek round of Championship fixtures as the ever-reliable Schindler once again anchored the heart of the Terriers’ defence.
And now that fortunes finally appear to have turned back in their favour, the skipper is able to draw positives from what had been a nightmare 12 months.
“I’ve never learned more about myself than during this period,” he added. “I’m glad that we had this experience.
“The aim now is to win games, be as successful as we can, but it’s not the time for dreaming. We have to get out of this trouble and take one step after the next to grow consistently. I don’t think you can expect massive jumps, so we need to build a solid base and go from there.”