LEE Grant and his opposite number Darren Moore have suffered a fair bit in recent months.

Ahead of the game, Port Vale chief and former Huddersfield Town manager Moore referenced his frustration and the need for everyone at the club to stick together and work through a tough time to change the season around.

Despite a pre-Christmas boost at Rotherham United, Grant will have certainly known where Moore was coming from.

In the previous home match against Wigan Athletic, the Town boss was the subject of considerable ire during a difficult second half and was barracked by Terriers followers and the subject of several unflattering songs.

Huddersfield Town captain Ryan Ledson, who scored his first goal for the club against Port Vale. Picture courtesy of HTAFC.

placeholder image — Huddersfield Town captain Ryan Ledson, who scored his first goal for the club against Port Vale. Picture courtesy of HTAFC.

Here, it was Moore who was on the receiving end of supporters' vitriol, from a much earlier juncture too en route to a old-fashioned hammering served up by quality hosts who were in statement mode.

Two goals down after just 15 minutes, Moore's side looked every inch what they are.

A side propping up the table and with no league wins to their name since late September and after this, it remains to be seen how long he will remain in the Potteries.

The early strikes were noteworthy as well, with the excellent Leo Castledine registering his tenth goal of a handsome campaign.

On-loan Huddersfield Town midfielder Leo Castledine, who moved into double figures on the scoring front for the season on Boxing Day. (Image: Jonathan Gawthorpe)

When January on the horizon, retaining the classy Chelsea loanee would be as significant as anything in the winter window. His beautiful second to make it 5-0 on the resumption in the second half reinforced that.

Earlier after Castledine’s opener, captain Ryan Ledson soon added to the good feeling with his first goal for the club, while Bojan Radulovic effectively ended the game as a contest with the hosts' third with just 32 minutes on the clock.

For Town, the afternoon was just the ticket. They have taken a liking for Boxing Day too, with this being their fifth successive victory on December 26.

After such a dispiriting last home encounter - amid a fair amount of second-half opprobrium directed by fans towards Grant - how Town needed an early settler and it duly arrived. And it was a beauty.

It arrived from a familiar source too, in the shape of Castledine.

Played in by Marcus Harness and with acres of space to run into, the stellar loan recruit drove deep into Vale territory before producing the calmest of guided low finishes past Ben Amos - to move into double figures for the campaign by Christmas.

By the quarter of an hour mark, it was 2-0 and it all started to get rather unpleasant for Moore, given a fair bit of stick from Vale punters.

The goal came following further inattentiveness at the back.

Harness was again the provider. His flat low free-kick on the left was latched onto by the unmarked Ledson, who stuck out a leg to turn the ball into the net past Amos for a milestone strike in Town colours.

It was a first half in which Town displayed far more wit than a prosaic and clunky Vale side.

And it got worse for Vale, who were hapless at the back.

Unconvincing throughout the first half, Amos turned away Lynden Gooch's angled low shot before blocking Alfie May's follow-up. Not too long after, he was picking the ball out of his net once again. A third goal was coming.

Again, Castledine caused consternation. His strike took a deflection off Ben Heneghan and meekly parried by the Vale custodian, right into the path of Radulovic, who obligingly tucked away the rebound for his sixth goal of the campaign - the cue for the visiting contingent to again turn on Moore, much to the mirth of many home spectators.

It was turning into an embarrassment for dreadful Vale. Before the break, Amos showed a better side to superbly keep out May's header before Gooch's drive flashed just wide - with the half ending with Amos again called into action to deny Castledine.

Town were clapped off at the interval. After recent events, it made for sweet music.

It became four early in the second half. A divine crossfield pass from Radulovic found Sean Roughan, who then supplied May, who provided the cool finish that such a sublime move deserved.

The best was yet to come, with Castledine curling in a cracker following a sumptuous back flick from Radulovic for 5-0.

Huddersfield Town: Nicholls; Balker (Roosken 69), Low, Wallace; Gooch (Sorensen 69), Harness, Ledson (Kasumu 78), Castledine (Ashia 69), Roughan; May, Radulovic (Charles 59). Substitutes unused: Goodman, Taylor. Port Vale: Amos; Clark, Debrah, Heneghan, Humphreys, Headley; Walters, Byers, Waine (Stockley HT); Hall (Shipley 65), Cole (Croasdale 65). Substitutes unused: Gauci, Brown, Curtis, Faal. Referee: M Woods (Airdrie)