Huddersfield Town chief Liam Manning's simple message to Alfie May - and prediction

May has had a testing time of it since moving to Town amid a fair amount of fanfare last summer.

The forward, who won the League One Golden Boot with Charlton Athletic in 2023-24, has scored just five times so far this term, including one penalty - netting just once since Boxing Day.

Urging May to stay in the box and think smarter and curb his natural workaholic tendencies to chase around the pitch, Manning, whose side dropped out of the top six on Tuesday night, said: "He's desperate to do well, but sometimes your behaviour has the opposite effect.

"You go and chase, have an impact and do things rather than sticking to what has got you success and what your strengths are.

"I think he's someone that loves football. He can still have a huge impact between now and the end of the year.

"If you look historically, Alfie tends to be a 'pest' off the back of people and in the box.

"Players like Alfie need an element of freedom, but he also needs to know what he is. I think in terms of showing him some of the stuff he's done over the last few years because he's been outstanding. Get in the box.."

Manning, whose side host Rotherham United this weekend, has confirmed that Marcus McGuane has trained this week following his recent injury, alongside long-term absentee Jack Whatmough - with Bojan Radulovic also ‘progressing’.

On Radulovic, still a few weeks away as he recovers from a hamstring issue, the Town chief added: "I think you've seen with Ryan Hardie, we will take risks.

"We're at that stage of the season where we've got so much to play for that we've thrown him (Hardie) in arguably a couple of weeks ahead of where he should be. We've got to be a little bit smart with how we've managed him.

It will be similar with Bojan. We'll see how he goes, see what risk we can take. He's definitely progressing, he's getting fitter."