Huddersfield appoint Siewert as Wagner´s replacement

Huddersfield Town have appointed former Borussia Dortmund reserve team coach Jan Siewert as David Wagner’s replacement.

Wagner left his role by mutual consent last Monday after requesting a “break from the rigours of football management”, with Huddersfield bottom of the Premier League.

He guided the club to an unlikely promotion to the top flight and then kept them up last season, resulting in chairman Dean Hoyle lauding him as “legendary” after accepting his departure.

Speculation swiftly turned to who might be brought in to replace him and rumours highlighted Siewert as the leading candidate early on.

The 36-year-old had been in charge of Dortmund’s second string since July 2017, when he succeeded Daniel Farke, who moved to Norwich City.

Dean Hoyle: “What was very clear was that Jan believes in this Club and what can be achieved here.

“He believes in our ethos and likes what he knows about #htafc, which made me very proud.”

https://t.co/UhMJHvZdFK (AT) pic.twitter.com/9ZGtKi5Oy9

— Huddersfield Town (@htafcdotcom) January 21, 2019

Wagner also came to Huddersfield from Dortmund, and while Hoyle believes Siewert is comparable to their former coach, he was eager to insist they have not just chosen their new man because a similar appointment worked last time.

“Let me start by addressing the obvious,” Hoyle told Huddersfield’s official website. “We enjoyed tremendous success under our previous head coach, David Wagner, and we’ve subse
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quently appointed a new head coach that bears many similarities to him; a young, aspirational German from Borussia Dortmund II.

“However, that does a disservice to Jan, who is his own man. There is much more to this appointment than that.

“Like any good football club – or successful business outside football – we have succession plans in place for our key roles. A major one here is the role of head coach.

“Given David’s success at Huddersfield Town, we knew that it was prudent to look to the future in case an offer came in that he couldn’t refuse. David was fully aware that we were undertaking this work; you must prepare for the future.

“Jan’s name came to our attention in his previous role as assistant manager and Under-19 coach at Bochum. We first spoke with him over two years ago and we’ve kept in communication since, watching his progress with interest.

“His reputation in the game is very good; he’s known as a coach who is ambitious, has many qualities and who has strong philosophies. As such, it came as no surprise to us when he moved to one of the world’s biggest clubs; Borussia Dortmund.”

Siewert’s first game in charge will be at home to Everton next week, as he begins his quest to chip away at the 10-point gap separating Huddersfield from safety.