Huddersfield Town keen to appoint 50-year-old Northern Irish manager as QPR & Cardiff City also circle | OneFootball

The Terriers have identified St Mirren's Stephen Robinson as their top target.

Huddersfield Town are reportedly interested in appointing St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson as their new manager.

The Terriers are coming off a disappointing first season back in League One following relegation from the Championship, in which many expected them to challenge for immediate promotion.

It did not transpire that way though, with owner Kevin Nagle sacking manager Michael Duff in March - interim boss Jonathan Worthington couldn't arrest the slide however as they ended the season losing six straight matches.

A 10th-placed finish followed, and now the hunt is on for Duff's permanent replacement.

Huddersfield Town keen on St Mirren manager Stephen Robinson for vacancy

According to Alan Nixon, the Terriers have made Northern Irishman Robinson their top target and are hopeful of getting a deal concluded after a lengthy period without a permanent boss.

However, League One newcomers Cardiff City, as well as QPR of the Championship, are also believed to be keeping an eye on Robinson’s situation.

50-year-old Rovinson has done an excellent job with the Saints since taking over back in 2022. He has led the Paisley outfit to three successive top-six finishes and secured European football for the club last season for the first time since 1987.

St Mirren are believed to be prepared to receive approaches for Robinson's services, but have added security from the fact they were able to tie him down to a new contract recently.

After his heroics in the dugout for St Mirren over the last few years, it comes as no surprise that Robinson is receiving attention south of the border.

Having enjoyed a lengthy playing career in England across spells with Bournemouth, Luton, Preston and Tottenham, Robinson is no stranger to English football.

He also has prior experience of managing in the EFL, having taken charge of Oldham Athletic and Morecambe for brief spells in the past.

While his recent new deal will undoubtedly have provided St Mirren with new hope, all three of the interested parties from the EFL would likely be able to eclipse the wages he is currently on, which would surely make a move to England an appealing one.

Although they are all huge clubs with bags of potential to progress, Huddersfield could be the most attractive proposition at present.

They have underwhelmed this season in League One, but the Terriers have a strong squad in place and would likely only need minor tweaks to their personnel in order to mount a promotion challenge next season.

By contrast, Cardiff are set for their first campaign in the third-tier since 2003, and will likely be in need of a substantial re-build.

Meanwhile QPR have been fairly stagnant in the Championship of late, and the recruitment issues raised by outgoing boss Marti Cifuentes will be a concern.

As shown by the January transfer window when they bought the likes of Dion Charles and Joe Taylor, Huddersfield clearly have a substantial budget for the third-tier, meaning the North Irishman would surely receive plenty of backing from the club’s hierarchy to mould the side in his image.

That budget could well be necessary to prize Robinson away from his current club, as Nixon suggests, the 50-year-old is believed to have a fixed fee attached to him as part of his latest agreement with St Mirren.

Huddersfield Town owner Kevin Nagle needs to get managerial appointment right or risk fan backlash

With the way the second half of this season has played out at the John Smith’s Stadium, Huddersfield are in desperate need of a move that brings some positivity back to the club.

The Terriers had just slipped out of the play-off positions when they sacked Michael Duff at the start of March, but since then, interim boss Jon Worthington has been unable to halt their slide down the table, and they ultimately ended the campaign with a hugely disappointing tenth-placed finish.

This has seen frustrations mount towards the club’s American owner Nagle, who has overseen a relegation and a failure to even get into League One's play-offs since arriving in West Yorkshire.

Now, though, he must get the appointment of Duff's successor right.

Over the last two seasons, Huddersfield have turned to several styles of boss, with Neil Warnock, Darren Moore, Andre Breitenreiter and Duff all having spells in charge.

They all turned out to be unsuccessful appointments, although all four could argue that they should have been afforded more time.

After relegation from the Championship last term, if Huddersfield are to regain their second-tier status anytime soon, then they surely need to choose their next man wisely and crucially, then supply him with the resources and patience needed for him to bring steady progress to the club.