Neil Warnock took questions from the media for the first time since being appointed as Huddersfield Town manager earlier this week.
New Huddersfield Town manager Neil Warnock was in buoyant mood as he took his first press conference this evening as he prepares his new side for the visit of Birmingham City on Saturday.
He replaced Mark Fotheringham and the club are currently without a win in seven league games. They sit 23rd and are four points from safety.
The 74-year old, who returns to management despite announcing his retirement 10 months ago, confirmed that he only met the players for the first time earlier today.
‘’I landed at Heathrow at 11am and went to meet the players. You’ve got to want them to come on board. Hoggy (club captain Jonathan Hogg) said the lads went home quite excited’’ he began.
‘’It’s been really positive. But I have plans with what I want to do’’. Warnock kept his cards close to his chest too when asked about possible team selection for Saturday’s game. The Terriers host Birmingham City and Warnock knows that they pose a huge threat. “They have very solid big strikers, solid at the back. We aren’t great at the back but we can give them problems, there’s a certain part of our game we have to come up on’’.
He went on to say that the fans also play an important role at this stage of the season. ‘’I don’t want fans moaning, I want them to be excited’’ he smiled. ‘’We’ve got to put bums back on seats and smiles on faces. I think the fans will have to play their part. They have to be vocal and help me”.
‘’I think in the circumstances, I’m sure they will get behind me. Saturday will be difficult. Only a small matter of the next game after Saturday being at Burnley ’’ he grimaced.
They will go to the table toppers next weekend with the worst away record in the league, having picked up just 10 points from 16 games this season.
”We need characters and we need to start winning games” he said when asked about what is needed in a relegation battle. ‘’I want to get as many points as I can as quickly as I can. 50 points is the target but recently it’s been 47, 48 points to stay up but we have to get over our first hurdle first and get that win’’
He admitted that rejoining a club wasn’t the plan, but he was given the go ahead by his wife Sharon when approached by Terriers chairman Dean Hoyle, but admits he ‘did not need much convincing’ when the offer came along. ‘’I want to leave them in a better place. Will we go down? I don’t know. I will do my best. I want to just enjoy myself”.
Warnock has 15 games to save the Terriers season and avoid dropping into the third tier of English football for the first time since 2012.