Huddersfield Town chief's message to Alfie May ahead of Barnsley - plus his view on criticism of Dion Charles at Doncaster Rovers

Given Town's travails in their past two League One games - they did not muster a single effort on target in successive away losses at Doncaster Rovers and Stevenage - his return is likely to be well-received.

More especially given that fellow forward Dion Charles is experiencing a goal drought of considerable proportions, while Bojan Radulovic remains on the injured list.

The match minutes of Ryan Hardie - who debuted from the bench in the final quarter at Doncaster - are also being carefully monitored following a recent knee issue.

Given all that - with Joe Taylor also elsewhere and Bobby Wales finding his feet - there is plenty of expectation on the shoulders of May.

Manning likes the striker both as a player and a person. A individual who is unstinting in his work-rate, the Town chief has no concerns on that score.

What he wants May to do is work smarter, not harder. And not try too hard if that makes sense.

On May, whose goals record against Barnsley is a good one historically, Manning said: "The second you start chasing it, you can start to move away from probably what got you a little bit of success.

"I think in terms of Alfie, he's hugely disappointed and frustrated to miss those games.

"I know he's desperate to do well from the conversations we have with him constantly, from how he applies himself in training and the energy he shows.

"He loves football, which I think is another huge trait of his.

"He's someone that between now and the end of the season, I know is going to have a huge impact.

"He's hungry and keen. He's not been involved in the last two results, so he's probably not carrying a little bit of weight of two losses.

"But he's got to play to his strengths. When you look at his last few seasons and even throughout his career, it's in and around the box, that's the biggest bit."

Work-rate has never been an issue with May's team-mate Charles either. Goals currently are.

His run without a goal extended to 20 games in midweek. Substituted in the 63th minute at Rovers, the former Bolton Wanderers frontman received some jeers from sections of the big Town following.

Charles has been here before in many respects. He had to wait until November to break his scoring duck after joining in the 2025 winter window. A all-too brief purple patch followed.

Speaking after Tuesday's game, Manning spoke up for the maligned striker, but also tellingly admitted that he cannot 'keep waiting' for him to end his run. One thing he is unequivocal about is his character.

On criticism of Charles - whose record against Barnsley was a good one in his time at Bolton, Manning continued: "We live in a (modern) world now where people are quick to make decisions, assessments and provide feedback.

"And naturally you'll feel elements of it. Dion's a tough character. I think he'll be the first one that'll be frustrated with elements of his game.

"Like I said to him, he does a lot of work that will go unnoticed and unrecognised. So for me, it's part and parcel of the industry. You have to get your head down with it.

"His teammates have to get around him. We have to get around him and we're going to need him ultimately."

Akin to May and Charles, Manning has seen enough to know that there is no issue regarding work ethic among his group.

What he wants to see is more bravery and leadership on the ball and not taking the safe option.

That was where he felt Town let themselves down against Rovers and Stevenage in the final analysis.

Manning continued: "There's bravery in running around in terms of effort, but that's a different sort of bravery to saying: 'Give me the ball, I'm going to dictate.'

"The biggest bit is wanting the ball to make things happen, not passing it sideways and taking responsibility to play forward and responsibility to run forward, put it in the box and to do those things.

"That's the bit when I'm talking about being brave."

Marquee deadline-day signing Hardie's late bench cameo at the Eco-Power Stadium provided a bit of succour for Manning, but he certainly won't not take any big gambles with the fitness of the Scot, who had been sidelined for the previous two months with injury.

On Hardie, involved after just one full training session in eight weeks, he said: "I'll always take calculated risks, but for me, you can't be reckless.

"The worst thing you can do is throw him in far too quickly, he breaks down again and you lose him for the rest of the season..

"Then, we are sat here and people are probably saying: 'well, what on earth are you doing that for?'"