Former Huddersfield Town, Sheffield United and Bradford City man comes 'home' as Terriers plan May appeal
HUDDERSFIELD Town legend Jon Stead has rejoined the club as part of Liam Manning’s first-team coaching staff.
Stead, who retired in 2021, will work alongside Martin Drury, James Krause, Chris Elliott and the club’s wider first-team staff.
After hagning up his boots, the 42-year-old spent time in the coaching realm in the US before returning to England alongside Neill Collins at Barnsley.
He subsequently worked with Collins’ permanent successor Darrell Clarke and also assisted the latter at Bristol Rovers after leaving Oakwell.
In his playing career, Stead earned his stripes as a youngster with hometown club Town and had two spells at the club.
His former playing clubs also include Sheffield United, Bradford City and Harrogate Town alongside the likes of Blackburn Rovers, Sunderland and Bristol City.
Head coach Liam Manning commented: “I’m really happy to have Jon complete our coaching team, and look forward to working closely with him alongside our existing staff going forward.
"He’s got a really interesting background in coaching, and having spoken to him at length about the opportunity, I know how passionate he is about having the chance to make a difference at his hometown club again.
"With a different skillset and outlook to our existing team whilst sharing many of the same beliefs and ideas, I’m pleased with the coaching team we’ve now established and I’ve enjoyed working with Martin and Chris for the time and being reunited with James, as well as getting to know the first team staff already in place."
Town sporting director Chris Markham added: "Jon is obviously no stranger to us, and he was proactive in making his interest in rejoining the club known after it became clear that there would be changes to our coaching team.
"Most importantly, Jon has thrust himself into coaching since retirement, and taken on opportunities both in England and abroad that has helped him establish himself as a highly thought of professional.
"While having a history with our club and town obviously helps Jon in knowing what it means to represent Huddersfield Town, more importantly, he is a good coach with fresh ideas and a strong work ethic, which only adds to the experience we already have in the building.”
Meanwhile, Manning has confirmed that the club will be appealing against Alfie May’s dismissal against Luton on Tuesday night.
He said: “We’re going to appeal it, I think only on the grounds that there’s no intent. Speaking with Alfie and when you see it, we’re not questioning whether he pulled Kasey Palmer’s hair, but there was zero intent. It was completely accidental. So we’ve appealed against it and hopefully common sense prevails.”