Kevin Nagle drops Huddersfield Town manager search update - it's 'close' | OneFootball

Huddersfield Town owner Kevin Nagle has revealed the club are making progress as they look to appoint a new manager.

Huddersfield Town are gearing up for a third consecutive year in League One after a disappointing 2025/26 campaign where they failed to make the play-offs.

Given the resources and budget available to the Terriers, there was an expectation that they could win promotion back to the Championship.

However, the decision to appoint the inexperienced Lee Grant backfired, and Liam Manning was in charge for a matter of months before he was granted compassionate leave, which meant Jon Stead and Martin Drury led the team during the run-in, and whilst they only suffered one defeat, a return of two wins in seven meant the side finished ninth.

Huddersfield Town owner Kevin Nagle provides latest on managerial search

With Manning’s permanent departure now confirmed, all connected to the club will wish the ex-Norwich chief well, but owner Kevin Nagle is looking for his successor.

Obviously, with the season having only finished a matter of weeks ago, there’s no major rush, although the Yorkshire outfit will want to get the new boss in place swiftly as a huge summer transfer window awaits.

And, taking to social media, Nagle revealed that they are ‘close’ to making a decision after a ‘thorough process’, although he did say it’s a ‘fluid situation’.

Given how the decision to appoint Grant backfired, as well as some other questionable calls since he bought the club, there will be pressure on Nagle to get this right.

Despite that, he has put funds into the club, so whoever does take over will inherit a squad that has a lot of talent by League One standards.

Huddersfield Town will be aiming for promotion next season

Following on from that, there will be an expectation going into the new season at Huddersfield, so the next manager will have to deal with that.

There’s no denying they have underachieved a lot in the past two years, as they haven’t sustained a genuine push for the play-off places.

Obviously, the new format of the top eight making the play-offs will increase their chances next season, but, realistically, the Terriers should be aiming to be in the top four at least.

They have a good squad, and you would expect further investment into the squad this summer, but they need to get things right with who is in the dugout.

Of course, the situation with Manning was out of Huddersfield’s control, so you do have some sympathy on that front, but you can’t go through the number of managers they have over the years if you want to be successful.

So, Nagle needs to strike the right balance between finding someone who can deliver success next season, which would be seen as promotion to the Championship, and also being someone for a long-term project.

Clearly, his comments here suggest that they are making progress, and it will be interesting to see who the new boss is. Then, it’s about backing them properly in the summer, as some players will go, new signings will arrive, and the manager will need to use pre-season effectively to implement their ideas to the group.