Exclusive: Grayson takes lower deal from Leeds to make quick return with Huddersfield - Have your say

The 42-year-old last night signed a three-and-a-half year contract with the League One club to seal a return to management less than three weeks after being sacked at Elland Road.

Before being able to accept chairman Dean Hoyle’s offer to succeed Lee Clark, Grayson had to come to agreement with Leeds over the remainder of his deal with the Championship club.

Under the terms of the contract that was signed in the summer of 2010, he was entitled to hold out for a larger sum but instead decided the lure of Huddersfield meant financial sacrifice was worthwhile.

Grayson told the Yorkshire Post exclusively: “After receiving a call on Friday to say Huddersfield were interested, I then met the chairman on Sunday night and was immediately impressed by what he had to say.

“To be honest, I didn’t have much intention to come back into football as quickly and fancied some time off. But after speaking to Dean, I decided I wanted this job.

“So, I got in touch with Leeds as there were still a few things that needed sorting out before I could join another club. We came to an agreement as Leeds wanted it done and I just wanted to get on with the rest of my career.

“It meant I had to take a bit of a hit financially compared to what I was entitled. But I thought that was a price worth paying to take on a challenge that really excites me.”

Grayson will be assisted at Huddersfield by Glynn Snodin and Ian Miller, the same coaching staff who were by his side at Elland Road.

The trio look back with pride on their time at Leeds, who they led to promotion from League One in 2010 before securing a seventh-place finish last season.

Despite that, Grayson believes he became the victim of a smear campaign after leaving on February 1, including suggestions he had lost the dressing room.

He said: “I was really disappointed to lose my job at Leeds but I did leave the club in a better position than when I arrived. So I have been hurt by certain things that have been said and written.

“It has been way off the mark and I have been hugely disappointed that people have gone down that line. I left that club with dignity and I have not once bitten back so why others haven’t been able to do the same, I don’t know.”

Grayson inherits a squad sitting fourth in League One, seven points behind Sheffield United, who hold the second automatic promotion place.

The new Town chief, whose senior debut in League football came at the club’s old Leeds Road home when a teenager with Leeds, said: “I have seen Huddersfield a couple of times and they are a good team.

“As a manager, you don’t often get the chance to take on a club sitting in as promising a position as Huddersfield are right now and we are going to give it everything to go up.

“Seven points with 16 games to go in a division as unpredictable as League One does not mean automatic promotion is settled just yet.”

Grayson’s links with Town’s rivals have meant his appointment has not been met with universal acclaim among the club’s supporters.

Hoyle said: “I am not ignorant to the fact that some supporters may question Simon’s appointment given his history at Leeds United but I will tackle that head on.

“It was all about getting the best man for the job and Simon ticks all the boxes. He has a history of success at this level with both Blackpool and Leeds, he has a point to prove following his departure from Leeds, and having met him on Sunday night I know he has the fire in his belly to lead Huddersfield Town into the Championship.”

On his past affiliations, Grayson said: “Everyone knows who I support but taking Huddersfield up will mean just as much as it did at Leeds and just as much as it did at Blackpool.

“I wasn’t a Blackpool fan when we got promoted (in 2007) but I gave everything to the club as manager. I will be the same here as we chase the success this club deserves.”