Huddersfield get the right man but Jan Siewert not promising miracles

Two days after Sky Sports’ botched attempt to unveil him, Jan Siewert introduced himself as Huddersfield Town’s new manager and revealed a fresh twist to the comical television mix-up that preceded his appointment. On Sunday, the day before the 36-year-old was confirmed in his new job, excited cameramen believed they had spotted him watching Huddersfield’s defeat to Manchester City from a corporate box in the John Smith’s Stadium, but when approached on live TV the spectator mistaken for the German manager explained they were in fact talking to Martin Warhurst, a Manchester City fan from Wakefield. Now Siewert has disclosed that the muddle played into his hands – because he was in the stadium on Sunday and his doppelganger unwittingly acted as a decoy.

“I have to thank Martin from Wakefield because it was fantastic that I could observe the game,” said a smiling Siewert at his presentation as the manager of the Premier League’s bottom club. Then he made it clear there is another case of mistaken identity that he wants to avoid: he stressed that he is not another David Wagner even if he, like his compatriot and predecessor, arrives in Yorkshire on the back of impressive work in charge of Borussia Dortmund’s reserves.

“I can’t be compared to David Wagner because he’s a fantastic manager who had much success here but now it’s a new role here, a new chapter,” said Siewert. “I have always worked my way.”

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What is his way? In Germany his teams attacked with gusto, and Huddersfield have referred to “high-effort, high-intensity, high-pressing football that is good to watch”. But Siewert did not want to begin by making grand pronouncements. “We can talk flowery about everything but the most important thing is to work it out with the players,” he said.

Siewert speaks three languages – French on top of German and his proficient English – and obvious charisma is another thing he has in common with Wagner. But, as Huddersfield’s chief executive, Julian Winter, reiterated, the two men “have similarities but are not the same”. Siewert’s mission is to build on the work of his predecessor, not to imitate it.

That makes sense given that Wagner’s departure came about last week after he intimated in December that he felt he had taken the team as far as he could. “David, being the human being that he is, sort of said that building up to a January transfer window, does the club want to adapt, think about different things?” explained Winter, adding the club’s thoughts turned quickly to Siewert, whom they first became aware of two years ago while he was working with Bochum’s reserves, from where he was hired by Dortmund. Huddersfield were so determined to lure him after Wagner’s departure that they did not talk to any other candidates.

The appointment is a calculated gamble. Siewert’s previous stint as the manager of a senior team was in 2015-16 with Rot-Weiss Essen in the German fourth tier and ended with him being dismissed before completing a season. He now becomes the second-youngest manager in the whole of the English league, a few weeks older than Fleetwood Town’s Joey Barton.

Unlike Barton, he was never a well-known player, his career as a midfielder in the German lower leagues curtailed at the age of 23 by an injury to his left knee. But since then he has gained a reputation as an outstanding coach despite his misadventure at Essen. He has led Germany’s U-17s and U-18s and he helped to rear top-class players at Dortmund, including Jadon Sancho, the young English forward who has thrived since joining the German side from Manchester City in August 2017.

“He had to get used to German football and I think that was something he learned in my team and then he exploded in his second season at Dortmund,” said Siewert of his role in Sancho’s development. “I have worked with other fantastic players. I worked with [Shinji] Kagawa, who played with my team, and Julian Weigl and Erik Durm also.”

At Huddersfield he will work with players who are enduring a miserable season, bottom of the league with two victories from 23 matches despite valiant performances. Good play has frequently been undermined by a lack of sharpness up front and the club has yet to make major investment in January reinforcements. Asked whether they will do so, Siewert answered “maybe”.

The likelihood is that prudent Huddersfield may have to wait until the summer to sign the players they need at a price that does not jeopardise the club’s financial wellbeing. By that time recruitment may be geared towards achieving another promotion from the Championship. Because this season, even with new attackers, Siewert will have to prove to be a phenomenal coach to save Huddersfield from relegation.