Friday 25 May 2012

Grayson's Pre-Wembley Press Conference

Simon Grayson had his pre-Wembley press conference on Wednesday and focused all his intentions on showing everyone that both himself & his team understand what is needed this Saturday.

"We have been very relaxed this week; the atmosphere has been good. The players are very focused and it is important that they stay level-headed, but also enjoy the build-up to the Final. We all know what is at stake and the players have worked hard on a few things on the training field. We have tried to play down the importance of the game, but that is a difficult thing to do. I am telling the players that it is like any other game and as a manager you have to do as much as you can to allow the players to concentrate on doing what they are good at."

"When I experienced the Play-Offs as a player, the wait between the semi-final and the final was a long one and it was difficult to get the right balance of rest and training. We managed to give the players some time to rest and recuperate over the weekend, but since Tuesday they have been fully focused on the training field."


Huddersfield Town set off down to Wembley on Wednesday and went ahead with their visit to the stadium yesterday but Grayson reiterated that all his squad is fully focused on the Jon in hand;

"From the first leg we have tried to keep things low key and we told the players that they hadn't achieved anything yet - even after the second leg it was still the same case," said Simon. "I have tried to make sure that the players stay focused and are aware that only the teams that win at Wembley are remembered."


Grayson continued to speak but moved on to talking about Sheffield United, his opponents on Saturday at Wembley.

"It will be a very tough game because I believe both teams are similarly matched. Both teams have got players who can win the game through an individual piece of play. We will be very positive in our approach as will Sheffield United, but we know what we can do to hurt them.
"I have come across Danny (Wilson) on many occasions and I have a lot of respect for him. He has done a good job at pretty much every club that he has been at and he has done very well at Sheffield United. I am sure he will be delighted to be in the final, but hopefully he will be disappointed come 5pm on Saturday."


Grayson took the opportunity to talk about the majority of the players past experience/disappointment from the play-offs especially last year when the terriers were beaten 3-0 in the final at Old Trafford.

"A few of the players hadn't played in occasion like it before and I think some of them may have thought that all they had to do was turn up and they would win the game. This year they are against a very good Sheffield United side - one of the biggest clubs in the country when you look at their fan base - and we will probably go into the game as underdogs. All the players have got their own motivations but as a collective our motivation is to get the Club into the Championship. If the disappointment from last year drives certain players on then so be it, but our sole motivation as a team is promotion."


Jordan Rhodes will undoubtedly feature in the play-off final and Grayson spoke about the amazing season the 40 goal striker has had.

"We have seen this season that when the big games come along he has responded. When we have come up against the top teams this season he has scored against most of them and obviously he thrived in the semi-final, scoring two goals. Hopefully he has got a few more in him for Saturday!"

"He is one of the best goalscorers that I have worked with, but they come in many different forms. I think he is very similar to Jermaine Beckford, because he can do something out of nothing. Jordan is probably a little bit more composed than most of the strikers that I have worked with, which was highlighted in our last game against the Dons - most strikers would have snatched at the early chance he had, but he kept his composure and side-footed it past the keeper."

"We are not just a one man team though; Lee Novak has come to the forefront and scored goals as has the likes of Danny Ward and others. Jordan has taken a lot of the spotlight this season and I think it has benefited Lee. Teams have obviously focused a lot of their defensive work around Jordan and that has allowed the likes of Lee, Alan Lee and Kallum Higginbotham a little bit more freedom."


Grayson finished off his pre-Wembley press conference by stating that Scott Arfield will definitely be fit come Saturday after he suffered a knock against MK Dons in the semi final. However, Ian Bennett is a different scenario;

"We are assessing Ian Bennett's injury every day because he took a nasty knock to the hand. It is getting better every day but we will have to see where he is come Saturday; Ian is an experienced professional who knows that he has to be 100%, because if he isn't he could let himself down and more importantly the team."

"Scott Arfield has trained most of the week and has recovered well from his ankle injury. There is only really Ian who is an injury concern, which means that we have lots of competition for places and I have decisions to make before I select my squad."

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