"He bleeds Huddersfield Town" - Kevin Nagle makes new claim on Michael Duff, Jon Worthington call | OneFootball

The Terriers' owner provided clarity on the club's recent change in the dugout

Huddersfield Town owner Kevin Nagle has stated the reasoning behind Michael Duff's dismissal earlier this month and the subsequent interim replacement of former player, Jon Worthington.

Speaking to official club channels in a lengthy sit-down interview which covered a breadth of club matters, the American's first topic of discussion regarded the recent changing of the guard at the John Smith's Stadium, just over two weeks after making the key decision.

Duff and Huddersfield parted company on March 9th following a run of four defeats in five games, with the former Swansea City boss victorious in 17 of his 36 League One matches in charge, which left Town seventh in the table.

Meanwhile, former club captain Worthington began his second stint in temporary charge with a bang, as the West Yorkshire side saw off relegation-threatened Crawley Town 5-1 on home turf, climbing back into the play-off picture on 61 points.

Nagle was quick to reiterate his admiration for the aforementioned Duff, but stated that a change had to be made at such a pivotal point of the season.

Kevin Nagle addresses major Huddersfield Town call involving Michael Duff, Jon Worthington

Much had been made of Huddersfield's dip in form towards the end of Duff's tenure amid a seemingly never-ending injury crisis and the departure of star defender Michal Helik to Championship side, Oxford United.

The Terriers enjoyed a 16-game unbeaten run in League One after an inconsistent start to the former Northern Ireland international's tenure, before winning just three of his final 11 games in charge, which saw the newly-relegated outfit lose ground on the automatic promotion places.

The notoriously vocal owner stated that the duo had worked in conjunction to rectify such issues, but an upturn in fortunes wasn't forthcoming.

When asked to explain his reasoning behind the decision, Nagle told club media: "I would say this much: We really enjoyed and I really liked Michael Duff a lot.

"I think in so many ways, he was really a great coach," he added. "But we know that there is a time in the season where it was a struggle.

"We worked with him to try to see if we could remedy those things. But, unfortunately, we had to make the change."

The 70-year-old then expressed his excitement regarding the upcoming weeks with Worthington at the helm, having started his second spell in the hotseat in fine fashion two weeks ago.

"Really excited to have Jon Worthington come onboard," Nagle stated. "Jon is familiar with the club, as you know. He bleeds Huddersfield Town AFC, he's a Yorkshireman, so I'm delighted.

"The reality of it is that, you saw how Jon performed in his first match against Crawley.

"I was delighted and really enthusiastic about the last nine games," he concluded.

Huddersfield Town's chances of returning to the Championship

Nagle was then quick to state that he believes the club still have a strong chance of achieving a first-time promotion back to the second tier, with the season's most crucial period on the horizon.

To begin with, the squad must look to continue performing in the same vein as they did against Crawley, which saw £3m January signing, Joe Taylor, net his first goal for the club alongside Ruben Roosken.

With plenty of attacking firepower and creative nous among the squad, Worthington - who picked up two wins from three games in temporary charge last season - and his side face a tough test post-international break as they travel to fellow promotion hopefuls Charlton Athletic, in a game which could provide strong indications whether Town can solidify a play-off place and gather momentum towards the end of the season.