Former MK Dons boss Liam Manning takes Huddersfield Town Head Coach role

Former MK Dons boss Liam Manning has taken charge of League One side Huddersfield Town.

The 40-year-old has signed a contract of undisclosed length described by the Terriers as a “long-term contract” with the side from West Yorkshire.

Manning replaces Lee Grant, who departed the Terriers after a 3-1 defeat to Burton Albion last weekend. Huddersfield currently sit 6th in League One, ahead of big games against promotion chasing Bradford City and play-off rivals Luton Town.

The move sees Manning return to management after being sacked by Norwich City in November, ending a troubled 5 month tenure in Norfolk in which the Canaries lost every game at their home stadium Carrow Road.

Huddersfield also confirmed the arrivals of Huddersfield-born Martin Drury, formerly of West Brom, Valencia and Brentford, as Assistant Head Coach and First Team Coach-Analyst James Krause, with the latter again working with Manning as he did at Oxford, Bristol City and Norwich.

In an arrival interview on the Huddersfield Town website, Manning said he was delighted to take the role at the Accu Stadium and would be looking to achieve success.

He said, “Being named Head Coach of Huddersfield Town is an honour, with the size of this opportunity too great to turn down. I am thankful to have been given the trust of such a prestigious role, and I’ll do everything in my power to create some positive history of our own.

“In each discussion with Chris Markham and the Club hierarchy, our wider hopes, desires and aspirations were not only shared, but how we wanted to achieve them was, too. Backed by a passionate and invested Owner and Chairman, there is an excitement and hunger that must be restored in everything that we do, and that work starts now.

“Inheriting an extremely talented and capable First Team squad and staff, I look forward to working closely with them all as we strive to fulfil our potential. Having coached against Town on several occasions, I know the size and ferocity of the support here both home and away, and it’s our job to establish a renewed sense of pride both on the pitch and in the stands. We have a lot to still play for this season, and I’m truly excited to get going.”

Manning previously managed MK Dons between August 2021 and December 2022, which was his first role as a senior manager in English football after impressing at Lommel SK in Belgian football and as a coach with youth teams in England and the USA.

He took the Dons to third in League One in his first season at Stadium MK, narrowly missing out on automatic promotion and losing to Wycombe in the play-offs, before he then left the Dons in December 2022 after a difficult start to the following campaign as the Dons struggled to an eventual relegation.