Terriers defend taking time over Drury appointment

Huddersfield Town sporting director Chris Markham has said the club "wanted to make sure we had left no stone unturned" in their head coach search.

The League One side appointed Martin Drury, who ended the 2025-26 season in interim charge, as their boss on Wednesday.

The Terriers played their final game of the season on 2 May and confirmed the departure of Liam Manning, who had been on compassionate leave, on 11 May.

"It was a very important decision for the club and we knew we had to take the time to get it right," Markham told BBC Radio Leeds.

"We knew Martin had put in a really good performance and a really good version of himself across that we were excited to interview further but we wanted to make sure we'd left no stone unturned.

"We looked at different profiles across Europe and in this country, experienced ones, inexperienced ones and the idea was to find someone that put the club first. We wanted to find a coach and an identity for the club that can deliver what the fans want to see on the pitch

"It was a very targeted recruitment process, it wasn't scattergun, we went after certain specific people who we thought could deliver that and really interviewed some creditable candidates who will remain on our radar.

"The one thing I can say for certain is that Martin was the stand-out and the one unanimously between us all that we were delighted to get over the line. It just took a bit longer than we liked."

Town have finished 10th and ninth in the past two seasons in League One after being relegated from the Championship in 2024.

Drury is the club's ninth managerial appointment since Carlos Corberan left in July 2022 and the Spaniard is the last manager to spend a full season in charge of the West Yorkshire side.

Michael Duff was sacked in March 2025 with Huddersfield seventh in the table, while successor Lee Grant was dismissed with the team sixth in January.

Markham has said the targets for Drury, who won two of his seven games at the end of the campaign, are based around performance rather than league position.

"Football as an industry is about winning and nobody is hiding from that but what we also need to take control over is the performances," he said.

"The performances in the last seven games were more like what resonated with me and other people at the club and most importantly the fans.

"For me the minimum level of requirement is that we keep that level of performance.

"There was never a backwards step. Playing on the front-foot, that is what I think is the minimum requirement."