Sticking together is essential to surviving in Premier League, says Huddersfield’s Quaner
COLLIN QUANER believes that Huddersfield Town’s strong team unity will prove the decisive factor in the club’s quest to maintain their Premier League status.
Town took a giant stride towards safety with a dramatic late winner from substitute Tom Ince against Watford on Saturday – with the victory labelled by head coach David Wagner as one of the “biggest in the club’s recent history”.
Ince’s strike was the prelude to wild celebrations that will be recounted in years to come by Town supporters, with every home player, substitute and members of the club’s coaching staff, including Wagner, joining in amid delirious scenes.
Quaner, in the thick of the celebrations with his team-mates – having started ahead of Ince before being replaced by the goalscoring winger on the hour mark – said: “It was a massive, massive three points and as you can imagine every one of us is really happy.
“We know it was a really big step and we are really close to getting over the line.
“I am really pleased. No matter who scored we would be pleased for the team, and the club and the fans and the way we celebrated shows that it means everything.
“David said it was a big, big three points. What makes us as a group is that we always stick together.
“The only way you survive in this league is by sticking together and playing together.
“You have to give the club a big, big compliment of what they do from the team they have. They might not have possibilities like other big clubs, but we have great character in the team and sometimes this is even more important.”
The cherished victory over Watford was a successful first instalment of a potentially key home double-header that culminates in the visit of Everton on Saturday week.
The Toffees will be heading to Huddersfield for a league fixture for the first time since April 1972.
Should Town follow up with a further triumph in another game that Wagner believes will also possess the feel of a “final” then their survival is likely to be all but assured.
Wagner, whose side take a break from action this coming weekend, said: “All we can do is keep teams below us.
“That is all you can do in this league; give yourself a breather and a gap.
“Listen, everyone has talked about our run-in and Southampton’s and Stoke’s and all we can do is go about our business and work as hard as we can for each other.
“We worked hard against Watford. We did not create as much as we wanted to, but we came away with three points and it gives us a little bit more excitement going into Everton, whereas if we had drawn or lost then the pressure would have mounted even more with it being a home game.
“It gives us a little breather, but we have to go again.
“We have made a big step and we have a ‘final’ in two weeks – maybe the biggest game in the recent history of Huddersfield Town, against Everton.
“We will be there for this final and the supporters will for sure make something and show that this is a final and for this we will prepare very seriously.”