Inspiration for interim Huddersfield Town boss Jon Worthington from Paul Heckingbottom and Paul Warne

It remains to be seen if Huddersfield Town’s Jon Worthington joins this particular club, come late spring.

He certainly has the perfect chance to put himself into the equation and into the thoughts of the Terriers hierarchy, for sure.

The former Town midfield favourite will take charge of his boyhood club for the next 10 games at least. If things go well, it might be for longer and not just a potential League One play-off campaign either.

What about the inspiration? Try Paul Heckingbottom and Paul Warne, who secured permanent posts following work at fellow clubs also close to their hearts in Barnsley and Rotherham United respectively.

Closer to Huddersfield, there was also Neil Redfearn at Leeds United.

Now 41, Worthington, who has stepped up from running the B team following the decision to sack Michael Duff, is determined to make the most of a genuine window of opportunity at a good stage in his ‘second’ football career.

His first spell in caretaker charge in the winter of 2024 was about holding the fort in the division above in a four-game spell ahead of Town bringing in an experienced figure in Andre Breitenreiter for the survival run-in.

For his part, Worthington, sensibly at the time, said he wanted to go back to his academy role and had no designs on the leading ‘gig’.

Amid a barren 2023-24 campaign, he also showed promise nevertheless. It now warrants a longer inspection with a bit more seniority behind him.

On whether he would potentially like the full-time job this time, his answer was telling.

Worthington, whose first game at the helm is at home to Crawley on Saturday, said: "I think after 10 games, it’s a great conversion to have to see where we are at.

"Once we get to the end of that 10 games, that's the time to have a conversation about what that next step is. I have an unbelievable opportunity and at the end of 10 games, that will dictate where we go moving forward.

"This time, I have a little bit of a longer period of 10 games and it will allow me to implement some more things I want to do as I am not going from game to game.

"Every decision I make will not be a reactive decision on the next game. It will be one that’s best for the group and Huddersfield Town over this 10-game period.

Worthington inherits a side low in numbers and bruised in mind after a hard past few months.

On that omnipresent topic of injuries, Dewsbury-born Worthington offers a different take.

He added: "It’s only a problem if you make it a problem.

"I see it as an opportunity for other players to come in and I have seen the squad over the last few days and know exactly what they are capable of.

"Naturally, over a period of time, players will come back and bolster and improve that and get more competition for places. I am more than happy to work with the level of player I have currently available.

"You can tweak things, absolutely.”