Lessons Huddersfield Town can learn from League One promotion winners

The Terriers are aiming to make an immediate return to the Championship. What does it take?

New head coach Michael Duff has made it clear that his ambition is to get Huddersfield Town promoted to the Championship at the first time of asking.

The Terriers’ drop into the third tier marks the first time they will play League One football since 2012, making the division somewhat unfamiliar territory.

We’ve taken a look at how recent promoted sides have been able to bounce back, whether through recruitment or playing style, to see if we can get an idea of how Town can approach things.

Replace quantity with quality

Hull City had just three players with at least 40 league appearances to their names when they were relegated from the Championship in 2019/20. The following year, they had eight such regulars as they claimed the League One title. 

Rotherham consistently used among the fewest players in the division in each of their three immediate promotions, as did Derby, Portsmouth, and narrow third-place side Bolton in the season just gone. It was the same for both Sheffield Wednesday and Ipswich when they got promoted in 2022/23. (Plymouth are a bit of a recent exception).