Ex-Town boss Siewert ‘still feels pain when club loses’

JAn Siewert has opened up about his spell as Town manager for the first time since leaving the club.

The German was sacked in August after just seven months in charge having won just one of his 19 games in charge.

In Siewert’s penultimate game in charge, Town produced a terrible showing in a 1-0 defeat to Danny Cowley’s League One Lincoln City in the Carabao Cup after he selected a largely second-string line-up including Herbert Bockhorn, Isaac Mbenza and Reece Brown. By a strange twist of fate Cowley replaced Siewert, but the German still lives in the Kirklees area and keeps a close eye on Town’s results.

Speaking to BBC

Sport, Siewert said of his dismissal: “I wouldn’t say it was a relief because still now it is painful for me if they lose.

“I left my heart there.

“For me, it’s really important people know I still care about the club, because I do. The whole time I’ve been living here – during my time with Huddersfield and especially after – people are so friendly.

“That’s one of the reasons we felt so comfortable here, and we wanted our child to learn another culture, another language.”

He added: “Of course, there are things that I would do in another way.

“Maybe in the Lincoln game I could have played a more experienced team, but my decision was, no, I’ll play those players who we will need in the Championship as well this season.”

Siewert also suggested he had effectively filled in as de facto director of football at Town.

He said: “During the summer break I was doing a lot of work, not just as a manager. I was helping the club in a structural way.

“This happened when others might have gone on holiday, but I felt I had to be there.”