SUMMER BUMMER
Player exodus on cards and manager’s future in doubt as Huddersfield drop
JAN SIEWERT, the Huddersfield manager, insists the club must accept a player exodus this summer after their relegation was confirmed.
Defeat at Crystal Palace condemned the Terriers to their fate. Yet intriguingly, Siewert refused to commit his future to the club, claiming end- of- season discussions with the board will determine whether he decides to lead Huddersfield’s attempt to bounce straight back up.
And expanding on what is likely to be a summer of upheaval at the John Smith’s Stadium, the German, who arrived as David Wagner’s replacement in January, admits it is inevitable that players will look to leave.
‘It will be normal,’ Siewert said. ‘We have to respect that and then trust the ones who will stay.’
With seven Premier League games left to play, Siewert is adamant he will not use the remainder of the season merely to blood academy prospects ahead of Huddersfield’s return to the Championship.
Despite leaving his own future unclear, he says the work towards next season’s promotion tilt starts now. ‘I know the Championship is coming, so I can focus even more on it,’ he said.
‘Before it was more like getting the right performance and showing that we want to stay in the Premier League. Most of the work was to have the chance of staying up. After the Wolves win, we had real hope.
‘This is hard to take but it shows we were competitive and this makes me positive for the future in the Championship.’ On the
remaining matches, Siewert said: ‘I won’t change my mentality as a manager. I always bring a team to win games.’
This will affect his selections, Siewert said. ‘If there is a young player who is part of that, of course. But it’s like having a look at each one and seeing if there is a possibility to win the game.’
Palace, barring a capitulation of monumental proportions, secured their Premier League status with this win.
Yet Palace fans appear unhappy about the direction in which their team are heading. Jeers rang round Selhurst Park at half-time following a disjointed display, while there were further boos midway through the second half when the score was still 0-0 and manager Roy Hodgson replaced Michy Batshuayi with Christian Benteke.
Luka Milivojevic’s penalty and Patrick van Aanholt’s late strike ensured the jeers had turned to cheers by the final whistle. ‘I don’t think there was too much frustration at the end,’ Hodgson said. ‘There was frustration at half-time, which we all feel. It’s natural in football. They care. If you care, you get frustrated, disappointed, hurt.
‘They came to the game full of hope and expectation, thinking we’d dominate Huddersfield from the kick- off, be all over it. And they’ve seen the opposite, they’ve seen us struggle and not play particularly well.
‘But I must say, as I came on to the field at the end of the game to thank the referee, I didn’t feel any frustration.’