OFF WITH HIS HUDD
Terriers captain Hogg says the Championship isn’t just tough on players... on managers... it’s VICIOUS
JAMES NURSEY
CLUB captain Jonathan Hogg admits the Championship is “vicious” after Huddersfield this week sacked their second boss of the season.
The latest axing came ahead of the Terriers’ visit to basement-side Wigan today, where Kolo Toure was ditched last month after just eight weeks in the job.
The former title-winning defender at Arsenal and Manchester City was in the Latics’ dugout for just nine games and failed to win in 59 days in charge.
Huddersfield, who are third from bottom, are now searching for their third manager in seven months after sacking Mark Fotheringham (above left), who picked up 21 points from 20 games in charge at the John Smith’s Stadium.
The visitors will have Spanish coach Narcis Pelach in caretaker charge this afternoon for his latest spell.
And midfielder Hogg said: “It just shows despite what Kolo did in the game, he came and was a manager but didn’t get the results. You don’t last long.
“It is a vicious game. You don’t get a lot of time if the results aren’t there.
“There are a lot of people involved because it is not just the players and the fans.
“A lot of people work tirelessly behind the scenes at the club to make sure they keep their jobs.
“If we go down, who knows what happens?
“It is not just the players or our contracts we are fighting for, it is the people in the background, like the cooks and the cleaners, too. It affects their life.
“We are playing for hundreds of people – thousands, including the fans.”
Huddersfield’s struggles this season are a far cry from last term when they finished third and made the play-off final under Carlos Corberan.
They nearly reached the Premier League, but lost 1-0 to Nottingham Forest at Wembley. Hogg admits it will now be like winning silver“On ware just to beat the drop after a torrid season near the foot of the Championship table.
The 34-year-old veteran added: “After last season, we thought it would be a good two or three years before we were fighting relegation again.
“It is exciting here – we are either going for promotion or fighting relegation. There is a prize at the end of it still.
“From where we have been this year, staying in the league is a big enough prize for me and most of the other boys in the club.
“So it is all to fight for and we are not dead and buried yet. Our heads are in the right place. We know the consequences of it, but I am confident we’ll pull through.
Saturday, both clubs need three points and we know we have to show a lot of fight and character on the pitch.”