Terriers are playing for their future, says Hogg
HUDDERSFIELD Town midfielder Jonathan Hogg believes it is vital he and his teammates keep plugging away for the rest of the season - lest head coach Jan Siewert should deem them surplus to requirements.
The Terriers have lost all of their last seven games, during which run their relegation to the Championship for next season was confirmed.
Siewert has experimented with his lineups ever since, trying out different formations and personnel in a bid to determine his best options for the new season in the second tier.
That may well continue when Town take on Liverpool in tonight’s Premier League encounter, which will be shown live on Sky Sports.
Asked whether it was important for Town to build up confidence and momentum for next season, Hogg said: “Oh it’s massive, yeah.
“You’re still playing for the manager’s opinion. You need to try and impress him to make sure you’re in his plans for next year.
“If you don’t perform it puts a negative little bit of doubt in his head that you might not be what [the club] need.
“So you need to try and keep performing to the best of your ability because next year’s going to be massive for us again.”
The Liverpool game will be followed by a home game against Manchester United and finally a trip to Southampton.
That leaves Siewert and his players to strike the balance between preparing for next season and staying focussed on the remaining games.
But Hogg said: “I don’t think it’s difficult.
“Every game of football’s just as important as any other one so we need to try and make sure you go out there and perform because next year’s gonna be massive for us.
You need to try your best to perform to take that confidence into next year.” HUDDERSFIELD Town have had a season full of hard games, but they don’t get any harder than tonight’s trip to Anfield to take on Liverpool.
Liverpool’s style of play will follow a familiar pattern: 4-3-3, with Andrew Robertson and Trent Alexander-Arnold providing width, a rotating cast of midfielders, and the two wingers in the forward line cutting inside onto their preferred feet.
There have been suggestions that Jurgen Klopp may be tempted to rotate his side against Town, with the Reds heading to Barcelona for Huddersfield Town midfielder Abdelhamid Sabiri could be heading out of the club this summer - a year before his contract is up.
The 22-year-old talent hasn’t featured at senior level for the Terriers since being injured in the 2-1 defeat at Bournemouth on December 4.