"Like making a signing" - Exclusive: David Prutton reacts to Huddersfield Town manager plan | OneFootball

David Prutton has told FLW his verdict on Jon Worthington taking charge at Huddersfield Town amid Mark Briggs speculation

David Prutton expects Jon Worthington to be a safe pair of hands for Huddersfield Town until the end of the season.

The Terriers promoted the coach up to interim manager following Michael Duff’s departure last weekend.

The team slipped out of the play-off places with their 1-0 loss to Bristol Rovers on Saturday, which has led to a change in the dugout.

However, the prospect of hiring former Sacramento Republic manager Mark Briggs has been rubbished by owner Kevin Nagle, who also has a stake in the US club.

David Prutton makes Jon Worthington claim

Prutton believes it would’ve been a risk to appoint Briggs with so few games left in the campaign and expects it might be one the club revisits in the summer instead.

For the time being, he’s claimed that Worthington can motivate the side to push for a top-six place, having successfully steadied the ship during his previous caretaker stint with Huddersfield.

“Any managerial appointment is a risk, any managerial appointment is a punt, it’s like making a signing,” Prutton exclusively told Football League World.

“And the fact you’ve got an owner there that has obviously control of both clubs — the other club of course being the Sacramento Republic, where Briggs was — means potentially it might be one that can be revisited in the summer.

“Given the fact he’s out of work, they might move on that.

“Given the games that are left, the couple of points difference between themselves and the play-offs, and the fact that Jon Worthington is in charge, I think he is an extremely safe pair of hands.

“He knows how to motivate, he knows how to operate at a football club.

“His time in caretaker charge was very ship-steadying last time out, and of course between now and the end of the season is not about steadying the ship it’s about climbing into the play-offs at the end of the season.

“Because they’ve got a good chance even though there’s a fair bit of traffic in the way games-wise, but I could potentially see why he might have been seen as a punt or a risk.

“But for now, with the mini-season they’ve got with Jon at the helm, it’s going to be fascinating to see.”

Huddersfield are currently seventh in the League One table, two points adrift of Bolton Wanderers in sixth.

Appointing Mark Briggs now would be a huge risk

The dismissal of Duff was somewhat harsh even if the team’s form had dipped just because the injury issues in the squad were also extremely bad.

But Worthington is a safe pair of hands to put in charge until the end of the season if no obvious candidates come forward.

Someone like Briggs would be an interesting arrival, but the timing just isn’t right at the moment given how little is left in the season and what’s at stake.

Coming back to him in the summer would make more sense if Nagle did want to bring him over to Huddersfield after their previous working relationship.