Grayson returning to familiar territory

Five years ago, he was in charge of Blackpool as the seaside club embarked on their first season in the second tier for three decades and secured a 19th-place finish.

Then, in 2010, Grayson was at the helm of a Leeds United side who enjoyed an impressive return to the Championship before a late-season slump led to a place in the play-offs being missed by just three points.

Considering the contrasting resources at his disposal, both represented hugely commendable performances and Huddersfield Town fans are now hoping Grayson can again weave his magic on the club’s return after 11 years in the bottom two divisions.

The portents are good. Not only has the 43-year-old been able to fend off any interest in Jordan Rhodes, one of the most in-demand talents outside the Premier League. But he has also managed to bring in proven performers at this level in Anthony Gerrard, Sean Scannell and Adam Clayton – suggesting Town are ready to make an impact this season.

“Every newly-promoted club has to make sure the club is still in the same division the following season,” said Grayson to the Yorkshire Post over a cup of tea at Town’s Canalside training complex.

“That has to be the starting point. But after that there also has to be the intention of moving forward as a club. We know the Championship is difficult and there will be games when we get beat. Equally, there will be games when we do very well and win.

“I am not going to sit here and say we will do a Norwich or a Southampton and go straight up. But we have seen what happens to many clubs after going up. At Leeds, we finished seventh and should really have stayed in the play-offs.

“We are going to hit the challenge head on. The Championship is going to be, if anything, even more competitive than usual.

“I don’t think there is one outstanding team that thinks it can walk away with the division. Every manager will be thinking they have a chance of achieving something.

“Any success is going to take a lot of hard work, consistency and responding to what comes our way. I can’t imagine anyone can pick a team out with any certainty and say, ‘They will go up’. It is a real level playing field.

“The teams that have come up from League One have done well in the transfer market. The teams that have come down have lost one or two but also recruited to replace them, while others already there have added to their squads to make them competitive.

“Right across the board, it is going to be close from top to bottom.”

Thanks to the League One play-off final not taking place until May 26, Huddersfield’s recruitment drive got under way after all 23 of their Championship peers.

That delay has not, however, proved a bar to bringing in an impressive array of signings with Gerrard the latest arrival in a £350,000 deal.

The 26-year-old, voted Hull City’s Player of the Year when on loan in 2010-11, is in line for an instant return to Cardiff with his new club due in south Wales on Friday night for a fixture that will kick-off the new Football League season.

It will be a tough baptism of fire, though one Grayson is eagerly looking forward to as Huddersfield look to start in a positive fashion.

“Sometimes, a newly-promoted club can go to one of the more fancied teams under the radar and that may be the case with us on Friday,” said the Town manager.

“When I was at Blackpool, we went to Leicester City on the opening day and won 1-0 through a goal by Keith Southern.”

As for the challenges that lay ahead, Grayson added: “We are all looking forward to it. The summer is always shorter after you’ve been in the play-off final but I have been happy with what we have done in terms of recruitment.

“I have been fully backed by the chairman and chief executive. From the moment we beat Sheffield United, we knew the targets we wanted to get.

“It was good to be backed in terms of money. Never once have I come out of a meeting with the chairman and been frustrated by the ambition of the club. That has been the case since day one.

“Dean (Hoyle, chairman) has worked extremely hard to get this club into the Championship and will not give it up lightly.

“When I came in, I didn’t want to make too many changes. The team was doing well anyway so there was no point in making changes for change’s sake. But once the close season came, we were able to put our own stamp on the squad and I now like the balance.”

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