Liam Manning speaks for the first time on decision to become new Huddersfield head coach

Liam Manning speaks for the first time on the decision to become new head coach of League One side Huddersfield Town.

The 40-year-old takes charge with immediate effect, and will be in the dugout at The Accu Stadium for the visit of Bradford City on Saturday.

He comes in as replacement for Lee Grant, with the club sitting 6th in League One, and are 10 points off the top two and 16 points behind leaders Cardiff.

Grant became the 7th permanent departure from Huddersfield since Carlos Corberan left in 2022, meaning no boss has lasted a full season at the Terriers since then.

Liam Manning has been appointed Head Coach of Huddersfield Town, taking control of the Men’s First Team with immediate effect having signed a long-term contract with the Club.

Welcome to the Terriers, Liam!#htafc

— Huddersfield Town (@htafc) January 20, 2026

Head Coach Liam Manning has been joined at the Club by Assistant Coach Martin Drury and First Team Coach-Analyst James Krause, who were both by his side this afternoon to oversee Men’s First Team training at Canalside.

Welcome to the Terriers, Martin and James!#htafc

— Huddersfield Town (@htafc) January 20, 2026

CLUB STATEMENT:

Liam Manning has been appointed Head Coach of Huddersfield Town, taking control of the Men’s First Team with immediate effect having signed a long-term contract with the Club.

Taking his first session at Canalside today, 40-year-old Manning will be in the dugout at the Accu Stadium for the first time this Saturday afternoon as we welcome Bradford City to HD1, with further details of his full coaching team to be confirmed in due course.

While his professional playing career was short-lived, Manning continued undeterred and began coaching whilst still in his 20s, first in the academy at Ipswich Town before moving on to West Ham United, where he served as Assistant Academy Manager prior to being named Lead U23 Coach at just 30, helping develop the likes of England international Declan Rice.

Joining the City Football Group in 2019, Manning served as their Director of Coaching before becoming Academy Director of MLS side New York City FC. Staying within the City Group, Manning became Head Coach of Belgian Second Division outfit Lommel SK in July 2020 where he turned around a previously bottom of the table team to finish third, more than doubling their number of wins and goals when compared to the season prior.

His first lead role within the EFL would follow in August 2021, taking over as Head Coach at Milton Keynes Dons, leading them to a third placed finish on 89 points before falling short of promotion via the Play-Offs. Twice named Sky Bet League One Manager of the Month that season, Manning’s next role remained in the division in March 2023, joining a struggling Oxford United side. After securing their place in the league that season and getting off to a flying start that saw him again awarded Manager of the Month that August, Manning’s impact to lead the side to second in the league wasn’t unnoticed, with Bristol City moving to appoint him in November 2023.

Having gone almost two decades without, Manning restored Bristol City within the top six places in the Sky Bet Championship at the end of the 2024/25 season before being beaten by a heavily favoured Sheffield United side in the Play-Off semi-finals. Most recently Head Coach of Sky Bet Championship side Norwich City after being headhunted by the Canaries in the summer of 2025 following his successes in the West Country, Manning departed shortly after in November of the same year.

Manning becomes the 47th permanent Manager or Head Coach of the Club in our proud history.

Huddersfield Town Head Coach Liam Manning added:

“Being named Head Coach of Huddersfield Town is an honour, with the size of this opportunity too great to turn down. I am thankful to have been given the trust of such a prestigious role, and I’ll do everything in my power to create some positive history of our own.

“In each discussion with Chris Markham and the Club hierarchy, our wider hopes, desires and aspirations were not only shared, but how we wanted to achieve them was, too. Backed by a passionate and invested Owner and Chairman, there is an excitement and hunger that must be restored in everything that we do, and that work starts now.

“Inheriting an extremely talented and capable First Team squad and staff, I look forward to working closely with them all as we strive to fulfil our potential. Having coached against Town on several occasions, I know the size and ferocity of the support here both home and away, and it’s our job to establish a renewed sense of pride both on the pitch and in the stands. We have a lot to still play for this season, and I’m truly excited to get going.”

Huddersfield Town Sporting Director Chris Markham commented:

“Liam’s appetite and enthusiasm to take this opportunity on has been abundantly clear right from our very first conversation, and we’re delighted to welcome him to the Club at such a crucial stage in our season, with so much left to play for. This recruitment process wasn’t just about finding a good coach, it was as much identifying the right person for Huddersfield Town to fulfil our ambitions both this season and beyond.

“An ambitious appointment that even six months ago would’ve likely been seen as unrealistic, Liam is an impressive person and professional, with his progressive and pragmatic approach to coaching sharing many of the ideals and characteristics that the Club, and most importantly our supporters, value highest.

“We are in the fortunate position that the brand of football and identity of team that our supporters hope for is in complete agreement with both the Club and Liam’s outlook. Whether in the stands as a supporter growing up, being behind-the-scenes as an analyst or now as Sporting Director, those expectations haven’t changed and we’ve brought Liam to the Club with that firmly in mind.

“An important decision in both the short and the long-term, this appointment at the head of our Men’s First Team allows us the opportunity to realign our football strategy across the entire Club, with the same principles and beliefs applied here to be present throughout both our Women’s First Team and Academy, reinforcing what it means to be Huddersfield Town.

“We’re delighted to welcome both Martin and James to the Club alongside Liam today, with all three men already heavily involved in our preparations for Saturday afternoon and beyond.

“Martin and James arrive at Canalside with exceptional experience and references from those they’ve worked alongside previously, and alongside Liam, will help us deliver the coaching and information to the players required to secure the type of results and performances we all want to see.

“Alongside discussions with Liam, I also spoke in detail with both Martin and James about the Club, their roles here and our collective goals moving forward, and have full belief in their ability to make telling contributions both on and off the pitch.”

Welcome to Huddersfield Town, Liam!

Here’s how fans reacted as Liam Manning speaks for the first time on the decision to become new Huddersfield Town head coach…

@__DB88: Plenty of experience , can get a team playing football. Welcome Liam

@BrettLodge1: Now get behind him and the team, no more negative shit. #UTT 👍

@WhatJackTweeted: Best of luck Liam. Let’s hope this works out for everyone

@stevewe71411847: Onwards & upwards now, no bloody negativity and moaning we get behind the team now in full force! Don’t expect 3 days training to win us a game either! Lets just get behind them. I personally don’t want to see anything negative now! UTT

@heppY_xo: No better way to start by beating Bradford 👍🏼

@TheTwatOfHTAFC: Welcome Liam, let’s hammer Bradford UTT

@WillOnYT: Our squad is capable of promotion on paper, anything less than that come the end of the season will be a failure.

@htafcwcfans: Time to get behind him. We’d have all snapped your hands off for an appointment like that in the summer. One bad spell doesn’t ruin a manager, some clubs/manager just don’t work for what ever reason. Hopefully onwards and upwards #htafc

@HMSHTAFC: We simply have to just get behind him – I know his few months at Norwich were not great but his time at other clubs looks positive – The only annoying thing is his style of play but if he does it correct and we win and shows some passion that’s all I ask for from him #htafc

@finnstjohn: Let’s all get behind him.. some people here will just start negatively with him before we even get a good chance to see what he does with the side #htafc