"He has been here for five minutes" - Huddersfield Town and Michael Duff called to implement critical change | OneFootball

FLW's Huddersfield Town fan pundit believes the club has a mentality issue that it quickly needs to resolve.

This article is part of Football League World’s 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

With Michael Duff's first full season in charge of Huddersfield Town well underway on their return to League One, the Terriers are still aiming to bounce back to the Championship at the first attempt.

Huddersfield may have narrowly avoided relegation in 2022/23, thanks to Neil Warnock’s heroics, after he masterminded another great escape by guiding the club to safety with a game to spare, but they weren't able to stave of the drop for much longer.

The following season under André Breitenreiter didn’t yield the same result. Despite taking charge with the team sitting 20th, Huddersfield couldn’t avoid the drop, and they are now set for their first season in the third tier since 2012.

Duff's appointment earlier in the summer brought optimism, with a solid start to the campaign and a number of strong signings. They are expected to be among the promotion favourites, though they will need to contend with Birmingham City's significant investment.

Huddersfield Town issue outlined that must be overcome

FLW's Huddersfield Town fan pundit Graeme Rayner was asked about what he thinks is the biggest issue at the club. He outlined that he is desperate for the club to change the whole ethos and mindset from top to bottom.

"I genuinely think the biggest at the club now is a malaise that has set in since we were relegated from the Premier League.

"Since then, we have been involved in a relegation battle in all but one season. When you think about that, with being in relegation battles for several years now in what must be coming to ten years for various reasons, that breeds a kind of battle-worn weariness among the fans.

"It also affects the club on the whole, but what has happened over the years is that, inevitably, we've sacked another manager and we haven't taken the opportunity to clear out the club.

"There are still people at the club in terms of backroom staff, and I don't mean administrative staff but on the football side of things, who have been with the club throughout all of that.

"Sometimes, I think you need an entirely clean slate. You see now with the fans that it manifests itself. A few weeks ago, we beat Exeter City in the league at home and everyone was feeling really positive about things.

"We had turned our mini-slump around and we looked to have a settled team and all of that. Then, we have a bad result in the FA Cup against Tamworth with a weakened side, and then we go for what would ordinarily be a credible draw 2-2 away to Crawley at the weekend, but again, fans are saying that Michael Duff's got to do well in his next game to save his job.

"He has been here for five minutes. The fans now have got to a stage where the slightest blip results in calls for change. Long-term stability is the solution.

"That obviously has to be long-term stability with the right person at the helm, but stability in terms of a manager or head coach and their support staff, ingraining a particular ethos and way of playing into the players, and one that will equip them to deal with those slumps is important.

"Which every team has, as Man City have lost four games in a row. Pep [Guardiola] has never lost four games in a row in his career as a manager until now.

"Every team can have a slump, but when you're a team used to failure as we have been, and used to be in the trenches as we have been struggling, then it can be a knee-jerk reaction to immediately blame the infrastructure and the staff.

"I think what is needed is long-term stability, both on and off the pitch, and for the fans to just give the current regime the time to really kick on and do it.

"Obviously, promotion this season would help."

Huddersfield Town's promotion hopes

The very nature of many football fans is to be reactionary as soon as a bump in the road knocks you slightly off course, which is an issue many Huddersfield fans have had for some time now.

That said, they have plenty of reason to be optimistic this season, in spite of their streaky start to the league campaign thus far. Town have one of the strongest squads in the league and a manager with the CV and know-how to succeed in a more calm environment.

January will also be crucial to their promotion hopes, with Town currently a part of the promotion picture but a little further back than they would have hoped to be at this stage. However, Graeme's assessment is spot on about the bigger picture beyond just this season as well.