THOMPSON LOVING EVERY MINUTE

THOMPSON LOVING EVERY MINUTE

Steve Thompson enjoying his time at United…

Assistant head coach Steve Thompson spoke exclusively to LUTV ahead of Saturday’s derby clash with Huddersfield Town (12.30pm) and he says that he is loving every minute at the club.

Steve joined Neil Redfearn's coaching staff at United from this weekend’s opponents in mid-December and insists he has no regrets leaving our Yorkshire rivals.

“I’ve settled in great,” said Steve. “The staff and the player have made me feel very welcome.

“We’ve got a way of playing and in training me and Redders have got them playing to a tempo and we’ve got them handling and controlling the ball.

“Hopefully we can push on now. We’ve had some decent results but there is still a long way to go.

“We are showing signs that we have got a quality squad.

“I left Huddersfield on good terms with the players and with Chris Powell too. There were too many coaches there.

"Redders and Leeds United wanted me here, I wish it had got done earlier and didn’t drag on as much but I have no regrets coming here.

“It is a fantastic opportunity and I’m loving every minute of it. Hopefully we can get up that table.”

Following United’s last outing – a 1-0 home win over Championship leaders Bournemouth on January 20 – the assistant head coach is now wanting the players to go and express themselves on the pitch.

“I said to Redders when I came in that I wanted to form my own opinion of the squad,” explained Thompson. “Obviously Luke Murphy wasn’t in the team and he is a fantastic talent.

“But you go through the whole squad and what they can give to the game. They have to go and express themselves and go and do things that we can’t coach. We can obviously work on things with them and we play in a system that suits them.

“We are a work in progress and we still have a lot to learn from. We want to make sure that they go out there and excite us.

“As coaches we want the players to go out there and express themselves and enjoy it.”

Steve is no stranger to Huddersfield Town’s players and having watched their game last weekend he insists that United will be looking to come away with three points on Saturday.

“I went to watch them at Wigan last Saturday so we know what they will be doing,” said Neil Redfearn’s assistant. “They have got players that can hurt you but we also know there are certain parts of the field we will be looking to get at them as well.

“It should be an entertaining Yorkshire derby but we will respect them. With the support we have been getting, which is fantastic, hopefully we can go and get three points.

“We are under no illusions, we know it will be a tough game.

“It’s a derby. You want to make sure that you don’t let the emotions and fans get to the players. We’ll go out there, play our football and we will play to our strengths.

“It is fantastic to be involved in these derby games as a player and as a coach, as well as for the fans. First and foremost we have got to stay in the game and then hopefully we can come away with three points.” 

X