Huddersfield Town have parted company with manager Darren Moore following their 1-1 draw with Queens Park Rangers yesterday, the club has announced.
The 49-year-old was only appointed as Neil Warnock’s successor in September last year after the legendary manager opted to step down from his role at the John Smith’s Stadium. He arrived in West Yorkshire with plenty of pedigree having guided Sheffield Wednesday to League One play-off glory in May, opting to leave Hillsborough shortly after.
His time at the Terriers has not gone to plan and he leaves the club just three points above the drop zone. With one win in their last 11 league fixtures, QPR are hot on their tails whilst the Owls are a further three points back with a game in hand.
The decision has been made with safety in mind, with Huddersfield releasing the following statement:
“Darren Moore has been relieved of his duties as Huddersfield Town Manager today (Monday 29 January 2024).
“This decision was taken after our Sky Bet Championship draw at Queens Park Rangers on Sunday, which took Moore’s record as Town Manager to three wins, 11 draws and nine defeats in all competitions.”
Chairman Kevin Nagle explained the decision further, saying:
“We have to make this decision to give us the best chance of maintaining our Sky Bet Championship status come the end of the season.
“Darren is a fantastic man, and he has worked tirelessly since taking the job back in September. I know I speak for everyone at the club in wishing him the very best for the future.
“We appointed Darren on the strength of his credentials as a manager, but it is now clear that this has not worked as we envisaged and hoped. There have absolutely been mitigating circumstances, such as the high number of injuries that Darren has had to cope with, but we have still not seen enough on the pitch in terms of results or the direction of travel in playing style and performances.
“I believe that our current squad is capable of more, particularly on the back of the work we have carried out in this transfer window, and we’re quickly moving to identify the right person to lead them through a crucial period of the season. We hope to make that managerial appointment soon.”
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Chief Executive Jake Edwards followed that by stating that there are still 17 games remaining and the decision was taken based on the time remaining to get themselves out of trouble:
“I want to begin by echoing the Chairman’s comments in thanking Darren for his total commitment to the club during his time here.
“This was not a decision that we made lightly, but we believe it is one that we had to take. We still have 17 games to be played this season, and that still gives us the chance to positively impact our results and position in the league table.
“We’re looking for our next appointment to have a big short-term impact, but also to fit with our longer-term strategy of building an attack-minded, progressive style of football over a number of seasons.”
Huddersfield have recorded three successive 1-1 draws and will be looking for three points when they take on fellow strugglers Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.
Writer’s View
This isn’t a decision that Huddersfield will have taken lightly but they have to be mindful of what the clubs below them are doing. All three of the teams in the bottom three have taken the decision to change their manager in recent months, with QPR and Wednesday in particular looking like they will have a real go in the fight for survival.
Darren Moore will be extremely disappointed that he wasn’t given the opportunity to turn things around, especially because he has only had four months in the job. He is sure to be given another stab at management though and there will be plenty of clubs willing to take a punt on him in the coming months.
