Terriers are now Schin it to win it

TOWN captain Christopher Schindler has cast light on why the Terriers were so determined to maintain an unbeaten run of friendlies this summer – and explained how the side are looking to approach games in the new Championship season.

Schindler laid out that the first priority in Town’s pre-season games this summer was to help bring back the winning mentality the club had lost over the course of an incredibly deflating campaign last season.

He said: “We say as well now that every friendly result is important for us because we need to bring this mentality back of winning games.

“It doesn’t matter who we are playing, it doesn’t matter when we are playing, if we are tired, we want to win the game and this is the key, to start well in this league because last year was difficult, we changed a lot.

“I think there are still going to be some changes in the team before the first game but we had good games in Austria, the bonding has started and with good results in pre-season, it is even better.”

Another major priority this summer has been to get the players fully acquainted and up to speed with Jan Siewert’s way of doing things. The head coach arrived in January and has spoken of his desire to implement a more progressive style of play.

The summer friendlies – particularly against Rochdale – indicated that pressing high up the field and attempting to capitalise on the opposition’s resultant disorientation could be a major factor in Town’s new style.

But that is not to say that the players will keep up that intensity the full length of the pitch. In the friendlies in Austria, it was clear that one midfielder – often the more creative player in the number 10 role – was instructed to push up and help the front three pressure defenders when the other side had possession in their own half, but drop back to reform the midfield three as soon as the ball crossed the halfway line.

That can leave a gap between the midfield and the front line when Town are out of possession, but the evidence of the game against Doncaster was that Town will look to cancel out that issue through swift counter-attacks, particularly from set pieces.

Schindler explained: “[Siewert] likes to press [but] when it is possible, we don’t want to make it as extreme as we did under David