Christopher Schindler spoke after Huddersfield Town’s crucial 2 -1 victory over West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, to discuss the game, the supporters, the Premier League table and upcoming fixtures.
The Terrier’s completed the double over the Baggies on Saturday, after second-half goals from Rajiv van La Parra and Steve Mounié secured the victory, despite Craig Dawson pulling one back for the hosts.
Huddersfield fans pushed their team forward
Schindler played the full 90 minutes at The Hawthorns, and on the final whistle, boos from the home fans were mixed with cheers from the away fans, but Schindler says that all he heard all afternoon were Huddersfield’s travelling supporters.
The German compared the atmosphere to his entire time at Germany: “[The atmosphere] was unbelievable. I can’t remember when the away fans were that loud – even in my time in Germany.”
The centre-back, along with many other players this season commented on the difference the support makes to them whilst on the pitch: “It was just amazing how they pushed us.”
“After we gave them the two goals – the way they pushed us forward was just amazing – this is what we need,” he added.
The centre-back then stated: “I think they [the fans] felt this was a crucial game, such as we on the pitch, and they saw at the beginning it was a little bit difficult for us and we were not at our best – so they needed to support the team a little bit more.”
Despite a scrappy first half from both teams, the quality certainly picked up in the second half, which allowed Huddersfield to continue their winning momentum and impressive performances, and on this, the 27-year-old commented:
“This is the quality we have and we need to use every single game because we know we don’t have the opportunities of the other teams with the most money, but we have other strengths, and that [the support] is one of them.”
It was a “crucial game” for Town and Albion
This game was considered a crucial one for both teams ahead of the match in terms of the relegation battle and the fight for survival.
The win moved Huddersfield into 14th place, 10 points above their Midlands rivals, who are rooted to the bottom of the table.
Schindler now feels that, as pressure increases on Alan Pardew’s role as manager, it will be tough for them to achieve anything other than relegation to the Championship by the end of the season.
He commented: “It was a crucial game for them. Ahead of the game, they said it was there last chance to get back into the competition and I think now for them it will be really, really tough.”
“We’ve now got a 10- point gap to them, which is good, and from that, we have to keep going and collect as many points as possible to try and secure our position as good as we can,” the defender added.
Huddersfield are still very much in the mix of the relegation scrap, involving around half the table, and Schindler would not say how many points Town themselves will need to secure their place in England’s top flight for another season.
He said: “We shouldn’t calculate now because we are still in a really serious situation.”
Huddersfield are “happy” with current situation
Prior to their last two league wins, Huddersfield had five successive league defeats, and Schindler commented: “In the last couple of months we dropped too many games and we are in the position now.”
“That’s why we have these ‘six-pointers’ and we are in a position where we have to win them,” the defender added.
The West Yorkshire side’s next three home games are against Swansea, Crystal Palace and Watford, and boss David Wagner will certainly be looking at these games as ones where they can pick up some of the remaining vital points needed for survival.
“We have good opportunities to win them [six- pointers] – at home especially – and you have to say if you don’t win these games you have no right to stay in the top flight,” admitted the German.
Huddersfield seem to be full of optimism heading into the final ten games as he said: “These are the games we are facing now and we are happy to be in a situation where everything is still in our hands.”
“And from where we come from and from what the experts said before the season, we are still in a position where we can help ourselves – which is very important in the really, really crucial period of the season,” the centre-back added.