Danny Ward: I want to come back a better goalkeeper
Promotion and personal improvement are the two primary aims for Danny Ward as the Liverpool goalkeeper seeks to make maximum use of his season on loan at Huddersfield Town.
The Wales international joined up with the ambitious Championship club in July, immediately after signing a new Reds contract upon his return from Euro 2016.
Ward has since started every league game as the Terriers, managed by Jürgen Klopp’s close friend David Wagner, have established themselves in the race to reach the Premier League.
They currently sit third in the table, behind only Newcastle United and Brighton & Hove Albion.
Helping Huddersfield achieve promotion is therefore ‘the ultimate goal’ for the 23-year-old this term, along with maintaining his own encouraging progress – which included a Liverpool debut in April.
“At the start we got off to a flyer, top of the league,” Ward explains in episode 14 of #LFCWORLD, which premieres on LFCTV at 8.30pm GMT tonight.
“But the thing with this league is that anyone can beat anyone, there are so many different styles and a lot of big clubs in this league.
“But we are punching above our weight and long may that continue, because we’ve got a great manager and a lot of great players.
“The ultimate goal in this division is to get promotion. For a club like this to finish in the play-offs would be massive. On a personal note, my aim is to just keep playing games, have a consistent level of performance and see where that takes me.”
LFCTV GO: Episode 14 of #LFCWORLD
Having experienced life under Klopp during the second half of last season, after returning from a loan spell with Aberdeen, the ‘keeper is now working with a man the Liverpool manager knows well.
But while Wagner has similar philosophies in the way he prepares and sets up a team, Ward has observed differences which make them ‘their own men in their own right’.
And the Welshman insists the loan deal with Huddersfield was borne out of simply finding the best place for him to develop, and nothing else.
He adds: “If the manager is saying that, he’s a great man so we have to take that on board, and it feels at the minute as though it was the correct decision.
“Wagner told me to come here and enjoy it. He said his aim is to make me a better goalkeeper, so I can go back to Liverpool with better qualities and more experience.”
Watch #LFCWORLD – which this week also features Jerzy Dudek and a round-up of the LFC World roadshow in Singapore – on LFCTV and LFCTV GO from 8.30pm GMT tonight. Click here for details on signing up now.