Play-off final defeat to Huddersfield Town no extra motivation for Carlos Carvalhal

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Swansea City boss Carlos Carvalhal says he is not one for “revenge” ahead of the trip to Huddersfield Town this weekend.

The Portuguese manager led Sheffield Wednesday to the Championship play-offs in both 2015/16 and 2016/17, with the Owls crashing out in the semi-finals in the latter, with Town claiming victory on penalties.

David Wagner’s men went on to win another penalty shootout against Reading FC at Wembley in the final, sending them to the Premier League for the first time in their history.

And Carvalhal must once again face the Terriers after being appointed Swans manager in December.

When asked in his pre-match press conference whether the play-off loss would give him any extra motivation, the 52-year-old said: “No, I am not this kind of person. I don’t keep things with me to have revenge on someone.

“It is important for us, we will try to win like we did before so there is nothing different.”

Although Wednesday lost the shootout at Hillsborough, Carvalhal is unbeaten against the Terriers over 90 minutes, claiming four wins and two draws in six matches.

But the boss knows Saturday’s match at the John Smith’s Stadium is a completely new situation.

On his record against Town, he said: “We did not lose, we played six and drew two but they won the penalties in the more important game.

“They played well, I can’t say they were better than us but we were equal and the penalties reflected that.

“I am not at Sheffield Wednesday anymore, I have a different team and they have different players.

“They have a great manager and we respect them a lot but we will try and win points but understand it is not the same game as in the past.”

He added: “I know their team and manager well, he has progressed the team well and got them promoted, I have played them often, they are interesting in how they play, they like to play with quality.

“They have brought in new players and we expect a different game but I think we can make it difficult for them too.

“Let’s see, it will be interesting because it is a game where you cannot predict what will happen. We will fight for the three points.”

Source

https://www.examiner.co.uk/sport/football/news/play-final-defeat-huddersfield-town-14385158

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