Stead will assist Martin Drury in leading the Terriers into their third consecutive season in the third tier
Huddersfield Town assistant head coach Jon Stead insists the club’s newly-appointed management team will be “working extremely hard” to ensure everything is in place to have a strong start to the League One campaign.
Stead will assist Martin Drury in leading the Terriers into their third consecutive season in the third tier, having overseen the final seven games of last term.
Town picked up ten points during Drury and Stead’s time in interim charge, consisting of two wins, four draws and one defeat.
Following confirmation that Liam Manning would not return to his role as head coach, the Terriers have now turned to Drury and Stead to take permanent charge ahead of next season.
Drury was appointed as head coach after the club conducted a “thorough recruitment process” for the position, and discussing the off season, Stead told HTTV: “Myself and Martin both had five, six days off to have a short break, but apart from that, the following two weeks after the season were spent with department meetings, and starting to look at recruitment, and obviously the interview process which was stringent, and we had to wait a little bit while other people were interviewed, so there was a lot going on.
“Then it’s about finding the right staff, it’s about us making sure that we give Martin exactly what he needs, in terms of his technical department, to help him succeed, and then it’s about recruitment, it’s about making sure that we’re identifying the right targets that can play this style that we’re looking to play, that can continue the growth, in terms of the club and the product on the pitch, and that continues right through.
“We’ve got the players coming in for a testing day at the beginning of June. Martin and myself didn’t feel it was okay for them to go away for seven or eight weeks, we want them back in halfway so that we can get a check on them, they can see where they’re at, in terms of their progression towards the start of pre-season, and then between now and the end of June when they return for full schedule.
“Then we’re back to the training ground, we’re back to Canalside, and we’ll be working extremely hard to make sure one that pre-season is in order and ready to be executed, but at the same time that we’re ticking over with targets, and making sure that we’re getting the pieces of the jigsaw in place so that we can have a really successful start to the season.”
The Terriers head into their third season in League One after registering ninth and tenth-placed finishes over the past two campaigns, with Town ending up eight points adrift of the play-offs last term.
On his appointment to his hometown club, where he had two spells as a player, Stead added: “It’s a dream come true for me and my family. I’m not going to allow it to go any other way than successful, because it means too much to me, it means too much to the people of Huddersfield, to the fans who have been fantastic with me from the age of 12 when I came into the academy, right through my career. They’ve always followed how I’ve got on, and I’ve had good conversations with every supporter that I meet, even in the tough times, so I just thank them for that, and I hope that support stays with us.
“We’ll give it everything – I think you can see that from Martin and myself, we won’t rest a second, we’ll give it everything every day, and we’ll make this a success.”
