Terriers boss looking to thrive... not just survive

DAVID WAGNER insists he would turn down the offer of a 17th place survival finish this season – because he refuses to set a limit on what is possible for his Huddersfield stars.

The German-american boss needs to make the numbers add up this season to secure Premier League safety at the John Smith’s Stadium for his newly-promoted side.

But 17th is not the holy grail for the Terriers chief, who saw his side storm into the big time with an eye-catching 3-0 win at Crystal Palace on the opening weekend of the season.

And, as his Huddersfield aces make their home debut in the Premier League against Newcastle today, Wagner says that he will not limit his team’s ambitions by merely settling for survival.

He said: “Would I take 17th place now? No, I would not take it.

“It means we rule out the chance of finishing 14th or 12th, so we should not have any limits.

“But if you ask me if staying up is success, yes it is. Absolutely.

“I’ve said before that staying up is absolutely a comparable success to promotion. Especially so for a club with our budget, compared to others, and the history of how difficult it is for promoted teams to stay up.”

It is clear Wagner is attacking the Premier League his way, even resisting the urge to stockpile advice from close friend and former team-mate Jurgen Klopp.

The pair played together at Mainz and worked in tandem at Borussia Dortmund where Klopp managed the first team and Wagner the second.

But Wagner is confident in his own ability to navigate the Premier League after taking Huddersfield to a Championship Play-off Final triumph against Reading at Wembley in May.

He said: “No, I’ve not had advice from Jurgen, because the two clubs are totally different.

“I think the experiences he’s had a Liverpool will be totally different from the ones I will have here.

“For sure, we’ll speak about different opponents to give advice, things like what he’s done against team A and what I’ve done against team B.

“But you can’t compare Liverpool with Huddersfield, we’re two completely different sizes of football club and this is why, regarding the Premier League, he hasn’t given me advice – although he might regarding some opponents.

“But I texted him last week, saying if he wants any advice on Crystal Palace, give me or my recruitment department a call, or his recruitment department can get in touch with mine.

“But I think Liverpool are strong enough, so they won’t need our advice.”

I’ve not taken advice from Jurgen, our clubs are different