Huddersfield Town: Kevin Nagle may have major Michael Duff regrets - he could have ruined play-off chances | OneFootball

Huddersfield Town's surprise decision to sack manager Michael Duff has not worked out well so far.

With just five games of the season remaining, Huddersfield Town's hopes of making the play-offs in League One are hanging in the balance.

Huddersfield were relegated from the Championship last season after a disappointing campaign that saw three different managers take charge of the team, but Neil Warnock, Darren Moore and Andre Breitenreiter were all unable to turn around the club's fortunes.

The Terriers would no doubt have been hoping that the appointment of Michael Duff in the summer would help to provide some much-needed stability, and after a turbulent start, it looked as though the 47-year-old was on course to deliver promotion after leading to his side to an impressive 16-game unbeaten run between October and January to close in on the top two.

However, despite the arrival of two big money strikers in January in Dion Charles and Joe Taylor, Town's form began to decline after the turn of the year, and after a run of four defeats in five games that saw the club drop out of the play-off places, Duff was sacked following the 1-0 loss at Bristol Rovers last month.

Owner Kevin Nagle decided against bringing in a permanent manager after Duff's exit, instead placing academy boss Jon Worthington in interim charge until the end of the season, but it is fair to say that the managerial change has not had the desired effect so far.

Huddersfield Town's big Michael Duff, Jon Worthington gamble has backfired

While it was a big risk for Huddersfield to hand Worthington the reigns until the summer, it is easy to see why Nagle felt he would be a safe pair of hands to help guide the club through the remainder of the campaign.

Worthington had a four-game interim spell in charge of the Terriers last season following the sacking of Darren Moore, and he emerged with plenty of credit after guiding his side to victories over Sheffield Wednesday and Sunderland during that time.

Even in the defeats Town suffered under Worthington, they were incredibly competitive, losing 5-3 against eventual play-off winners Southampton and conceding in the last minute in a 2-1 defeat to Hull City, so Nagle was understandably confident that the 41-year-old could deliver results in League One in the short-term.

Nagle's faith in Worthington looked justified as Huddersfield emphatically beat relegation-threatened Crawley Town 5-1 in his first game in charge, and the result was particularly eye-catching given that the West Yorkshire outfit had previously not scored a single goal at the John Smith's Stadium under Duff in 2025.

However, the Terriers' initial success under Worthington proved to be nothing more than a false dawn as they fell to back-to-back defeats against Charlton Athletic and Lincoln City in their next two games, and the 4-0 loss at The Valley against one of their main play-off rivals was a big cause for concern.

Worthington enjoyed some brief respite as Town picked up a crucial 2-1 win over Mansfield Town on Saturday, but his joy was short-lived as his side were beaten 1-0 at home by Wycombe Wanderers on Tuesday night.

Huddersfield's misery was compounded as Reading secured a 3-1 victory at Shrewsbury Town on the same evening to move back into the play-off places, and Worthington's men are now four points behind the Royals, with time running out for them to save their season.

Kevin Nagle may live to rue controversial Michael Duff call

Nagle has certainly not been afraid to make big decisions during his time as Huddersfield owner, and Duff was the fourth manager he has parted company with in his two seasons at the helm.

There were sections of the Terriers fan base who were not convinced by Duff and were keen to see a managerial change, but his sudden sacking divided opinion, and it is increasingly looking as though Nagle acted hastily by dispensing of his services.

Town's form under Duff in 2025 made for grim reading, but there were mitigating circumstances for his struggles, and Nagle himself referenced an "unprecedented injury situation" when explaining the reasons for his dismissal.

Nagle claimed that "the resources we have available are capable of more" than the results that Duff delivered, but in his final weeks in charge, he had virtually none of his centre-backs available, and his forward line was also severely depleted, which would no doubt have contributed significantly to the underwhelming form.

Aside from Birmingham City, who spent a staggering total of around £24 million in the summer transfer window, it is rare to see a team achieve promotion from League One at the first attempt, with the likes of Sheffield Wednesday, Derby County, Ipswich Town and Sunderland all taking between two and four years to secure their returns to the Championship.

With that context in mind, it was perhaps unfair of Nagle to expect Duff to guide Huddersfield to promotion in his first season, particularly as plenty of work on the squad is still needed following relegation, and his track record at League One level in his previous jobs at Barnsley and Cheltenham Town suggests that he would have been more than capable of bringing success to the club if given time.

Even if the sacking of Duff was necessary, Nagle should have considered appointing an experienced permanent manager rather than simply running with Worthington until the end of the season, and it seems the American businessman may already be regretting that decision, with reports earlier this month claiming that he was weighing up a move for Paul Warne or Brian Barry-Murphy.

It seems that patience with Nagle is starting to run thin after the underwhelming start to his reign at the John Smith's Stadium, with supporters holding up a banner criticising his increased season ticket prices during the win over Mansfield on Saturday, and the discontent towards him is only likely to grow if the club miss out on the top six this season.