Huddersfield Town coach ‘excited’ for next season despite not knowing role

Jon Stead oversaw the final seven games of the season with Martin Drury, after head coach Liam Manning was granted compassionate leave.

Huddersfield Town interim head coach Jon Stead admits he’s “so excited for next season” regardless of what capacity he is in at the club.

The Terriers are starting to turn their attention towards a third season at League One level, after missing out on the play-offs this term.

Town ended this season in ninth place, eight points adrift of the top six, after registering 67 points from 46 games.

The Terriers also finished tenth in League One last term, with Town having chased a return to the Championship following their relegation from the division in 2024.

Stead oversaw the final seven games of the season with Martin Drury, after head coach Liam Manning was granted compassionate leave.

The interim management team presided over two victories, four draws and one defeat, as the Terriers were unable to find a way back into the top six. Their hopes ended prior to the penultimate weekend of the season, with Town conceding late equalisers in three consecutive matches to seal their fate.

Town will now begin to gear up for another promotion push, but it isn’t clear at this stage who will be in charge for next term, or what part Stead will have to play among the coaching staff. However, Football Insider have claimed that the club are set to offer Stead and Drury the permanent head coach role.

Interim boss Stead said at a recent press conference: “I’m so excited for next season, regardless of what my role looks like, whatever capacity I’ve got, in terms of next season, I’m excited for it as a Huddersfield Town fan, and a coach at the club.

“I think there’s a lot of positives. I think we’ve got a real core squad there, I think three or four additions to that in a couple of areas, just to kind of help with some of the things that we’ve struggled with this season, whether it’s conceding late, whether it’s set-pieces, I think personnel wise, we can tweak things that will help us with that.

“I’m excited to see the kind of football that we’ll continue to play next season, it’s going to be good, so there’s loads to be positive about.”

The Terriers will be coming up against the likes of Leicester City and Sheffield Wednesday next season in their bid to secure a place back in the second tier, who have both been relegated from the Championship this term.

On the prospect of his side going under the radar next season with those clubs dropping into the division, Stead said: “I think maybe externally, but I don’t think that’ll change the demands and the expectations of us and the fanbase, so we’re still going to have that same feeling.

“We’re going into next season to go and compete with those teams. There’s no reason, with the budget and the right kind of recruitment, that we can’t do that.”

The interim boss believes that the Terriers can draw inspiration from clubs such as Lincoln City and Bolton Wanderers, who finished 11th and eighth in League One respectively last term, but have gone on to end this season in first and fifth.

“It’ll be another tough league I’m sure next season, very competitive, we’ve seen that, but we’ve seen clubs that have had seasons where they’ve finished in similar positions to us, and then the next season they’ve gone on and completed the objective,” Stead said.

“Bolton I think finished around the same position as us last season, obviously Lincoln, they finished maybe 11th or 12th. It shows that it can be done, and I think we need to take a little look at how it’s been done by other clubs, and make sure that we get it spot on this summer.

“Then hopefully it’s a full season without any change, and then we’re looking to build the following season after that, rather than look at ways that we need to fix things.”