Huddersfield Town boss Mark Robins spelled out his season targets to his squad today and told them: “We’re here to have a real good go!”
Robins was disappointed with last season’s 17th-place finish and knows improvement is a must from a new-look line-up and backroom team.
Goalkeeper Joe Murphy and defender Lee Peltier – whose last game for the club was the play-off final defeat by Peterborough at Old Trafford – have been welcomed to the training ground and Robins expects more new faces before the Championship kick-off against Bournemouth on August 9.
“From my point of view we don’t want to be scratching around this season, so we’ve got to try and avoid the 12-game run we had without a win,” said Robins.
“In this league that’s difficult because there is a lot of spending power at our level.
“There are a lot of clubs with parachute payments from the Premier League, and they are increasing year by year, and there’s a different dynamic with six new clubs involved in our division.
“It’s important, therefore, that we set out our stall so the players understand what is required.
“Yes, we want to have improvement but, also, we want to have a real good go.”
Robins is keen to ensure competition for places drives Town forward, although it’s likely players will leave as others come in.
“The players know what they need to do over the summer, they all have programmes to follow, and as usual they have returned in good shape,” he said.
“People who don’t get a financial penalty, but that’s not really the issue. If they are not in shape then they are not as ready to compete as the rest of the players because they are not as capable, so they know it could cost them matches or even a shirt.
“What you are looking for from Day One is a real response and a scrap in terms of players trying to get in the team.”
Robins is pleased with the new backroom set-up of Steve Thompson as assistant manager and Steve Eyre as first-team coach and added: “I should put on record my thanks to Steve Taylor and Darren Robinson for the important roles they played, but sometimes things need freshening up and we’ve done that.
“An assistant manager gives us a different dynamic and approach, and it gives me a chance to manage things and take a step back if I need to or be involved in the coaching when I need to – so our planning and preparation can be spot on.”
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