Huddersfield need a 'reset', says Duff

Michael Duff says he will not make "snap judgements" on Huddersfield players after his predecessor Andre Breitenreiter's scathing criticism of them

Michael Duff believes Huddersfield Town need to "reset” following his arrival as manager.

The Terriers were relegated to League One last week, with former manager Andre Breitenreiter delivering a damning verdict on some of his players in the aftermath, before leaving the club by mutual consent.

Duff was appointed on Monday and says his target is to see Huddersfield bounce straight back into the Championship.

Asked by BBC Radio Leeds what is required, the former Cheltenham, Barnsley and Swansea boss said: “It’s an opportunity to reset. We want to rebuild it, to pull everything back together and create a winning environment.

“We want to get promoted next year, make no mistake about that, but I’m fully aware there is no given right.”

Scathing

Huddersfield went through three managers last season as the team struggled to stay above the bottom three.

Breitenreiter was scathing about some players, claiming they lacked fitness, commitment and unity, and were more focused on “playing golf and maybe staying in the pub”.

Duff believes the German’s words probably came from the situation he found himself in, saying: “After a relegation, you lose players, but I don’t want to make too many snap judgements when I’ve been in the building less than 72 hours.

“It’s easy when things aren't going right for people to point fingers and blame everybody else. Now’s a chance to reset and get everybody aligned, which is the difficult part, to build a culture that will hopefully get us promoted.”

With rebuilding required, Duff said no budget has yet been discussed.

“Everyone’s aligned. I haven’t been given any guarantees on numbers," he explained.

“I do believe, if we can get it right with the infrastructure of the club and the appetite of the owner, the opportunity to be successful is there.”

'Sign of intent'

Duff's appointment has come at a time when the morale of Huddersfield fans is low, but the new man in charge has promotion credentials.

After being named League Two Manager of the Season for leading Cheltenham to the title in 2020-21, Duff took Barnsley to last season’s League One play-off final, where they lost to Sheffield Wednesday.

Since then, his career trajectory has flattened slightly.

He lasted six months at Championship side Swansea before leaving with them in 18th place.

Huddersfield's football director Mark Cartwright said: “Bringing Michael in, in the time that we did, is a sign of intent.

“(Owner) Kevin (Nagle) has invested a hell of a lot of money behind the scenes, to make (the club) a lot better. There’s no point having a Ferrari with a Fiat engine.”