Huddersfield Town v Sunderland: Terriers defender on Jon Worthington taking a leaf out of Neil Warnock's book

The rest, as they say, is history.Twelve months on and the Terriers’ are in a similar position as they search for another new face in the dug-out to keep them away from strife at the wrong end of the Championship. Even if their present-day predicament is not quite as dire as back in mid-February 2023.

The hand on the tiller, in a caretaker capacity, is currently Jon Worthington - a 40-year-old in the early stages of his coaching career.At 33, senior defender Tom Lees is Worthington’s junior by just seven years.

Worthington may be a ‘rookie’ in managerial terms, but Lees has already seen signs that remind him of the most experienced current manager on the circuit on these shores in Warnock, whose long farewell tour recently took him to Aberdeen.

Lees said: "I have really enjoyed it (under Worthington). It’s pretty simple and straightforward with no sugar-coating anything.

"He tells you how it is with a couple of clear messages and we just go from there. I think the way he wants to play suits the players that we have got if I am being honest.

"It’s quite similar in some ways, without the ball, with the way we played under Neil Warnock.

"We are used to that and having that experience a couple of months before that has helped us adapt to the way Worthy wants us to play.”

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After a psychologically huge 4-0 win in his first match in caretaker charge against Sheffield Wednesday, Town claimed a moral victory, if no points, in losing 5-3 at Southampton on Saturday.

Against a serious Saints side chasing automatic promotion, whose last defeat arrived on September 23, the emboldened Terriers gave them the fright of their lives.

Town pressed their lofty opponents close to their own goal and refused to sit back. The idea was to get the Terriers’ more offensively-minded as high up the pitch as possible.

Despite the result, the tactics worked with Worthington’s players clearly buying into it. They looked liberated in the process.

It begs the following question. Have Town played like a team whose minds have been uncluttered?

"I’d say that’s a fair way of putting it,” Lees acknowledged.

"It’s just very clear messages, not too many messages; probably two or three points to identify what he feels the opposition are weak at, but not totally changing everything we do for the opposition.

"It’s more about us having a way of playing before we even step out there and turning up at the stadium with a mindset of getting after the game and going to win. It’s just getting people doing what they are good at.

"In these transitional and pressing moments, with the likes of (David) Kasumu, Sorba (Thomas), Josh Koroma, Brodie (Spencer), (Jack) Rudoni and Wilesy (Ben Wiles) - all these lads who can run all day with their energy - it’s getting them on the ball higher up the pitch when they turn it over.

"It’s what they want and thrive off.

"I just think the way we have set up and style we are looking to play and the way we have attacked and approached the games has been evidently quite different.

"It puts teams under pressure higher up the pitch nearer towards their own goal. We have just played more on the front foot.”

Alongside the club’s players, Town’s supporters have also clearly been enthused by their side’s efforts in the last two matches.

With back-to-back home games coming up, there is a timely opportunity for the team to continue to reconnect with fans. But the obvious outlier is that points are still more important than performance, ultimately.

Town’s season remains delicately poised.

There is solace in the fact that senior players like Lees have the positive memories of last term’s ‘Great Escape’ under Warnock to draw upon, should they require inspiration ahead of their latest run-in.

Lees also believes their experiences so far in 2023-24 have also conditioned them for what is to come and he makes a salient point about that very fact as well.

He continued: "We just can’t rely on teams below us to not catch us up.

"I fully expect those teams below us to start wining games. So rather than relying on them, we’ve got to catch those teams above us and drag more into it.

"We know what it can be like where you almost get lulled into a false sense of security thinking ‘we won’t get dragged into that’ and ‘we’ve got enough in the dressing room.’

"As before you know it, you are right in it.

"Whereas with us, in reality, we have been in this battle for a long time and expected we’re in this battle.

"Our mentality is going after wins as soon as possible to get safe and hunt those teams down above us.”