Liam Manning sent 'worrying' Huddersfield Town warning - Terriers are in 'troubling times' | OneFootball

FLW's Huddersfield fan pundit knows that his side needs to improve to maintain their place in the top six

It was a bad weekend for Huddersfield Town, as their defeat at Wigan Athletic, paired with wins for Reading, Stevenage and Wycombe Wanderers, has put their place in the top six in jeopardy.

A 1-0 loss at the Brick Community Stadium marked their 11th defeat on the road this season — the most in League One — and has meant that a win for Wycombe on Tuesday in their game in hand against Barnsley will see the Chairboys, and former boss Michael Duff, leapfrog them into the top six.

It's been a year full of ups and downs at the Accu Stadium. General discourse around the club is that they're having a bad year. However, Huddersfield spent the majority of the campaign in a play-off spot.

They were sixth when Lee Grant was sacked in mid-January, and the hiring of Liam Manning was thought to be the missing piece of the puzzle. Still, results have been inconsistent, and now Terriers fans are starting to think that a third year in the third tier could be on the cards.

Huddersfield Town fan pundit expresses concerns about current play-off race

Graeme Rayner, FLW's Huddersfield fan pundit, cut a frustrated figure when asked about the very real possibility of the sides below taking their play-off place come May 2nd, after the Terriers' poor run extended to one win in five against Wigan.

Huddersfield have a squad capable of finishing in the top two, let alone the top six, and in Liam Manning, have a manager who was navigating a play-off push in the league above this time last year. So, the fact that they're not hitting expectations is slightly concerning.

"It is worrying," Rayner said. "Teams are poised to take us out of that last play-off place, and we need to get some consistency in our performances.

"The second half against Barnsley last week was really good, although the first half wasn't, but then at Wigan on Saturday, it was pretty abject, not a lot of cutting edge or incisiveness.

"It's really disappointing, and we need to cut it out. We're running out of time to secure that place [in the play-offs] and another season in League One is not something that anyone wants to consider."

It's been just over a month since Liam Manning came through the door at the Accu Stadium, and the majority of the Huddersfield fanbase, Rayner included, feels that he's the right man for the job. Therefore, some questions are starting to be asked about those higher up.

In the interim, the return of Bojan Radulovic in April couldn't come sooner, as the Serbian has been missing on the field after picking up an ankle injury. This time last season, Radulovic was having an impactless loan spell at Dutch side Fortuna Sittard.

"There are some grumblings from fans about the leadership at the higher level of the club. I don't think it's all on the management, and I'm more confident that, under Manning, we have a fighting chance if we get in the play-offs.

"But the last few performances have not been good enough, and it comes back to, weirdly enough, missing Radulovic, who this time last year wasn't anywhere near contention; he was having a bad loan spell.

"So, yeah, it's troubling times."

Huddersfield Town need to regain some momentum soon in the play-off race

Huddersfield have been stagnant throughout 2026, sitting sixth for the majority of it and cruising at times.

Now, the momentum is with those below, and all three of Reading, Stevenage, and Wycombe look ready to pounce on this middling form at the Accu Stadium. If the Terriers are to avoid the embarrassment of back-to-back finishes outside the play-offs, they need to get back on track soon.

Luckily enough, they have games against Rotherham United and Port Vale in their next two, and with the latter being away from home, it allows them to end this away hoodoo and show that they're capable of picking up three points on the road.

However, on the flip side of the coin, if they don't pick up maximum points, they'll almost certainly drop out of the top six and be in even worse form ahead of a run-in where they face each of the current top three alongside some other tricky games.

These next two games could define their season. Huddersfield need a confidence boost, and they could find it against two relegation-threatened opponents.