Darren Moore sacked as Huddersfield Town boss: reaction

The manager has been dismissed after winning just three of his 22 games in charge

Darren Moore has been sacked as Huddersfield Town manager following his side’s draw away to Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road on Sunday afternoon.

Town looked to be on course for victory after Jack Rudoni struck late on, but Kenneth Paal capitalised in injury time by putting away the hosts’ only real opportunity of the game.

Chairman Kevin Nagle said in a club statement: “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.”

Chief exec Jake Edwards added: “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.”

Having guided Sheffield Wednesday to promotion from League One via the play-offs last season, Moore was brought in following Neil Warnock’s shock sacking in September but has proven unable to get his side winning consistently.

Nagle had issued what amounted to a public ultimatum to Moore after last weekend’s 1-1 draw away to Blackburn Rovers.

Moore was given the time to work through a severe injury crisis that gripped his squad throughout October and November, but the club have now invested in four new signings in the January transfer window and still seen no improvement in their results. 

The manager departs with a record of three wins, eleven draws and eight defeats from his 22 league games in charge – the fourth-worst win percentage of any permanent Town manager in the club’s history, outstripped only by John Haselden, Jan Siewert, and Danny Schofield.

That tendency to draw too many games has been particularly costly for Moore, while several of the team’s defeats were heavy enough to have an extremely negative impact on their goal difference, including 4-1 losses away to Birmingham, Leeds and Leicester and a 4-0 defeat at home to Cardiff City. If that does not improve – and only wins can do that – they will need to hope it does not become a decisive factor in the final league table.

No announcement has yet been made as to who will be in charge to face Sheffield Wednesday in another relegation six-pointer at the John Smith’s Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Town then face their toughest run of fixtures of the season with six of the current top ten on the agenda in the seven games following the clash with Moore’s former club.

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We Are Terriers reaction

The writing was on the wall for Moore coming into the QPR game. It was evident after the Plymouth match that Nagle had all but run out of patience, and following that up with yet another draw against Blackburn last weekend left both the manager and club standing over the trap door.

Town may have avoided defeat at Loftus Road to defer that issue to another day, but their failure to improve their standing has left them still in a precarious position. They will now be looking for their sixth permanent manager in just over 18 months.