Huddersfield Town vs Ipswich Town trio’s absence explained and Jack Rudoni’s replacement made clear

Huddersfield Town trio Sorba Thomas, Delano Burgzorg and Jaheim Headley have been left out of the matchday squad for their Championship swansong with Ipswich Town.

Terriers head coach Andre Breitenreiter said ahead of Saturday’s game that Town “will only take the players to travel with us to Ipswich who we think are the right ones because some players are on loan or some are thinking maybe. in their heads that they left the club”.

The German also criticized the lack of team unity in his pre-match press conference, with Town’s relegation fate all but sealed at the time, while he previously questioned the “heart and passion” of some players after a defeat to 4-0 to Swansea. City that brought the Terriers to the brink of collapse.

Read more: Andre Breitenreiter prepares for critical talks with Kevin Nagle over his Huddersfield Town future

Asked by BBC Radio Leeds if the decision not to select Thomas and Burgzorg was a “punishment for their lack of commitment against Birmingham and previous games”, Breitenreiter replied: “You’ve given the answer, definitely yes.

“I showed the selection for the team, for the team, for this match. We wanted to place the young players, I also wanted to see Tom Iorpenda, because other players, they have not given their best performances in the last weeks or months, so we tried to play with other players.

“I never talk about individual players, I talk to them maybe in personal discussions but not through the media, so when they are not in the team you can form your own opinion.”

Breitenreiter also raised eyebrows with his decision to replace Jack Rudoni at half-time in Saturday’s defeat, shortly after the midfielder was dispossessed before the Tractor Boys’ first goal.

Explaining why he made that call, the head coach said: “We played well in the first half against the ball, we showed a compact unit. Only then was it difficult when we lost the ball on the easy way.

“Sometimes it was too easy and we defended as actively as we wanted from some players, so that’s also the reason for the substitution in the first half. I wasn’t okay with Jack Rudoni’s performance, so I tried it with Alex Matos and he did it very well and much better.”

Breitenreiter made four changes from the 1-1 draw with Birmingham City last time out, with Chris Maxwell, Ben Jackson, Ben Wiles and Tom Edwards given the chance to impress. He praised the latter’s contribution in particular, with the on-loan Stoke City defender making his first start since October in Saturday’s defeat.

“For me, he was one of the best on our team, he played really good flat passes,” Breitenreiter said. “We all know about the negative things against him because of some games at the beginning of the season, but he always trained with passion and 100 per cent, so he deserved to start. That was why some players started and could take a chance today.”