Stankovic trying to enjoy Premier League run-in

Posted Friday, April 19, 2019 by PA

Huddersfield defender Jon Gorenc Stankovic accepts it has been a miserable season for the club but is determined to savour every last minute of top-flight football.

The Terriers became only the second side after Derby in 2008 to be relegated from the Premier League in March and have won only three of their 34 matches this season.

The weekly beatings became too much to bear for former boss David Wagner, who departed by mutual consent in January, but Stankovic insisted it has all been worth it.

“It’s still the Premier League and the best league in the world and I think all the lads who are playing are really enjoying it,” the 23-year-old said.

“This is not something you wouldn’t enjoy.”

Wagner was replaced by fellow German Jan Siewert and while the defeats have continued – Siewert has lost 10 of his 11 games in charge – Stankovic has emerged from the shadows.

“Of course it is hard and I think everyone knows that,” he said when asked how hard it had been mentally for the players this season.

“I don’t really need to focus on that because there are defeats, so it is hard for us, but on the other side, and personally for me, I’ve been playing a lot and I hadn’t been playing before.”

The Slovenian, expected to feature in Saturday’s home game against Watford, had been a peripheral figure after joining from Borussia Dortmund in July 2016 and was then sidelined for over a year due to a cruciate knee ligament injury.

He made just one league appearance under Wagner this season before Siewert handed the central defender his first start in six months as a midfielder in a rare win against Wolves in February.

“So it’s like a plus for me,” Stankovic said.

“There are defeats, yes of course, but since my injury I came back and it’s really good for me and the coach helped me a lot and gave me the chance and this was really good for me.”

Javi Gracia has challenged Watford to rub salt into relegated Huddersfield’s wounds as they attempt to mount a rousing finish to the season.

The Hornets head for the John Smith’s Stadium on Saturday looking to complete a Premier League double over the Terriers after recording a 3-0 win in the reverse fixture in October.

He told the club’s official website: “In this moment, they are in a difficult situation, but they are a team with a lot of virtues offensively.

“They pass well, they create chances, they attack well offensively and from set pieces they are good. They have a good balance in the team.

“We have to be able to take advantage of the fact they are in a difficult moment and try to show who is the team who wants to improve their position in the table. We have to show it in the game as it will be a demanding game.”

Watford currently sit in 10th place in the table on 46 points – five more than they managed in the whole of last season – with five games still to play and with an FA Cup final against Manchester City to come.

However, they will be without talisman Troy Deeney for three of those fixtures as a result of his red card against Arsenal on Monday evening.

Midfielder Etienne Capoue is likely to wear the captain’s armband in Deeney’s place this weekend, but Gracia has called upon his leaders to come forward to plug a sizeable gap.

He said: “Capoue has always been a leader. There are different leaders in the team who lead in different situations and in different moments.

“All of them have different personalities. Sometimes [Adrian] Mariappa’s opinion is the best for the team and other times, Capoue’s is the best.

“What’s important is we have different, important players who are all leaders. The first thing for all of them is the team. When we have one important player out, the rest of the team keep going and playing the same way.”

Deeney joins the injured Domingos Quina, Tom Cleverley, Jose Holebas and Adalberto Penaranda on the sidelines, but Gerard Deulofeu and Roberto Pereyra are due to have late fitness tests.