Kevin Nagle could be facing Huddersfield Town U-turn - fans are making their feelings clear | OneFootball

Lee Grant's position as Huddersfield Town manager has been debated amid mixed form

Huddersfield Town's form at the start of the League One season has certainly come under the microscope, particularly after the major backing given by vocal American owner, Kevin Nagle.

The Terriers are among a handful of sides to boast recent Premier League pedigree that currently reside in the third tier. As such, expectation levels are rather greater than those of many divisional counterparts, which comes as very little surprise.

Last season was an extremely frustrating and underwhelming one to endure for all at the Accu Stadium, with Nagle making it his immediate desire to right the many wrongs which led to a run of two wins in their final 15 league outings under both Michael Duff and interim boss, Jon Worthington, culminating in a 10th-place finish whilst finishing 14 points behind eventual play-off finalists, Leyton Orient.

A plethora of potential managers and head coaches were, subsequently, linked with the vacancy in the final weeks of last season and the early stages of the off-season as the West Yorkshire side looked to eventually end what proved to be a long-standing managerial search.

It was a rather left-field appointment at the time, but the decision to install Lee Grant in his first full-time managerial role was one met with excitement that Town were heading into a new era under a manager with an exciting philosophy, having worked under Kieran McKenna during a period of back-to-back promotions at Ipswich Town between 2022 and 2024.

Indeed, Grant - and his freshly-moulded squad - justified such feelings early on in the campaign. However, Nagle could be forced into a U-turn very soon based on recent form and performances, despite reiterating his backing of the 42-year-old.

During his maiden transfer window in charge, Grant oversaw a major overhaul, in which 14 new players were recruited and 15 left the club.

The most high-profile recruits included Alfie May, who joined from Birmingham City for £1.2m after netting 16 times for Chris Davies' side during their record-breaking campaign last season.

Many similarities were drawn up between Grant and Davies, albeit Town's financial backing is still nowhere near the same level as what was displayed in the West Midlands 12 months' ago.

However, it was clear that a newfound confidence had been instilled around the Accu Stadium with four wins in the Terriers' opening five league games, as well as claiming EFL Cup scalps against Leicester City and Sunderland.

Since then, though, Town's form and performance levels have been extremely tumultuous, with two wins, one draw and four defeats coming across a timescale of seven League One encounters, including extremely below-par home performances against Burton Albion, Stockport County and Bolton Wanderers.

The 2-1 defeat against Stockport, in particular, raised eyebrows due to Grant's team selection, substitutions and tactical decisions, which led to Town being unable to break down a side reduced to 10 men after 53 minutes.

Speculation regarding Grant's future was rife as a result, especially heading into the following week with no fixtures due to international call-ups, although Nagle was quick to put those rumours to bed in rather bullish fashion.

Regardless, the return to action against Bolton on Thursday night - in front of the Sky cameras - did very little to change the overall stance of supporters, meaning Nagle could soon revert his decision unless a marked improvement is made.

Bolton Wanderers collapse increases pressure on Lee Grant's Huddersfield Town future

Remarkably, Huddersfield still find themselves in eighth - just seven points behind league leaders, Cardiff City - despite an underwhelming run of results and performances.

It looked as though the tide could've been turned when Leo Castledine headed the Terriers into an early lead against Steven Schumacher's side.

However, even though it took until the 93rd minute for the Trotters to initially equalise through Sam Dalby, it's fair to say that the pressure had been building for the vast majority of the encounter, with six of Huddersfield's shots coming before the break, whilst the Chelsea loanee's strike was the only big chance forged by the hosts.

Amid the wild scenes in the away end which complimented Amario Cozier-Duberry's dramatic winner for the visitors, boos could also be heard from home supporters, who continued to voice their displeasure on social media after the full-time whistle.

In response to Grant's own reflections, one supporter stated that this was very much a 'copy and paste' from any interview he'd conducted since mid-August.

Another Town fan believes that Nagle should hold fire in terms of a sacking, whilst claiming that Grant hasn't done himself any favours on occasions, either.

Rather interestingly, another supporter compared Grant to former England boss, Sir Gareth Southgate, albeit not in a particularly complimentary way.

During a week when Nottingham Forest have sacked Ange Postecoglou after just 39 days, the argument of giving managers adequate time has certainly come to the fore, especially with it being a 'dying art' in the modern game.

As a result, Grant may already be feeling the heat, which will, in turn, only increase the pressure on Nagle to act.