David Wagner says Huddersfield Town have a great opportunity to target survival points against Everton despite the loss of Tom Ince and beamed: “Bring it on!”
The head coach can’t wait for battle at the John Smith’s Stadium , where a win would be a massive step towards Premier League survival.
It can’t mathematically be achieved this weekend, but Wagner is well aware that a win against Sam Allardyce would make like extremely difficult for those below in the table.
Ince – hero of the win against Watford with a last-gasp decider – has hamstring problems and sits it out as Town look for a first win over Everton in 62 years.
“We need more points to gain our perfect scenario, to stay up, and we have a great opportunity ahead of us in our own stadium,” said Wagner.
“The focus is this match at home, but I haven’t ruled out taking points off the last few games.
“All I hear is that the town and every supporter can’t wait for this game against Everton - bring it on!”
Wagner is convinced the fans will be up for another Watford-style campaign from the stands, and told supporters they again have a massive part to play.
“I have no doubt that Town fans will come in their numbers,” he said.
“Against Everton we will have to make the hard yards and, for the players to do that, they will need the support from the stands.
“Everyone knows what a great opportunity this is for us.
“It was a great and absolutely fantastic result against Watford, but the job is not done.
“We’ve used the extra time ahead of this weekend’s game smartly and now we would like to show that we are ready.
“What I realised from day one was that our supporters are real supporters and can tell the difference between a performance and a result; this is why they are extraordinary.
“We want to get this over the line.”
While Town are without Watford scoring hero Tom Ince because of a hamstring problem, Wagner says the rest of the squad are geared up to go.
“The players look totally focused, we’ve had a good level in training and we’ve got good momentum in terms of results,” said the boss.
“The players have played in games where they’ve had to collect something – and tomorrow they have another opportunity.”
On the Ince injury, Wagner added: “We’re missing the three long-term injuries (Michael Hefele, Elias Kachunga and Danny Williams) plus Tom Ince, he has some hamstring problems. With him we speak more about days than weeks.”
