Impressive at home, where they’ve only lost once (to Tottenham, 4-0), Huddersfield have, however, struggled away from John Smith’s Stadium.
Saturday’s 4-0 defeat to Bournemouth was a perfect example of that, and Laurent Depoitre, a guest on RTBF in his home country on Sunday, feels the scoreline was very flattering towards the Cherries.
He said: “We were better than them in the first-half, then they scored two goals on set-pieces. They then got a man sent off during the second half. They played with 10 men behind the ball, but we didn’t manage to score. They took their chances well on the counter. It’s tough, but it doesn’t reflect the game”.
Still, the Belgian striker is happy to be at Huddersfield after a year lost in the Porto wilderness, and, weekend loss aside, believes the club are on the right track.
Key to all this has been their manager, David Wagner, whose training regime and personality has allowed the Terriers to surpass themselves at times this season.
Depoitre explained: “We’re working well, both technically and tactically. We work on everything. He’s someone who knows how to motivate his troops. He knows how to transmit his desire to win to his players, which is also important.
“I think there’s a really good atmosphere between the team and the staff, which has been our strength this season”.
Currently only playing a game a week, the Belgian forward knows things are about to get a lot tougher, with 11 games in 45 days coming up, starting with a home fixture against league leaders Manchester City.
He said: “We’re not talking about it yet, but we know it’s probably going to be the toughest game of the season. Especially when you see the form Manchester City are in at the moment. Thankfully, we’re playing at home, but we know it will be very difficult.”
Having overcome José Mourinho’s Manchester United at John Smith’s Stadium already this season, could David Wagner’s Huddersfield be the first team to stop Pep Guardiola’s men in their tracks?
It seems unlikely, but, as you well know, anything can happen in football.
