Neil Warnock has given me 'confidence' insists young Huddersfield Town flyer Brahima Diarra

One of those who has been handed the stage is Brahima Diarra, with the teenager featuring five times under the Terriers chief thus far.

The 19-year-old has made 17 first-team appearances in total in 2022-23 and after being blooded by former head coach Mark Fotheringham, the young Frenchman has shown enough to be assigned with game time from Warnock.

Diarra said: "He's been very good and has given me confidence. He has told me just to express myself.

"Sometimes, some managers just want you to pass to somewhere when you want to dribble.

"He has given me confidence to show what I can and I want to give everything for him.

"I was not expecting to play these many games because in pre-season, I was injured.

"When Mark came, I was not expecting it, but I was ready to play."

Cutting his teeth in EFL circles at Harrogate Town in a loan spell last season proved an education for the attacking midfielder, but an invaluable one all the same.

Alongside Diarra, a number of young Town players have headed to the spa town for a taster in league football, including Jaheim Headley, Matt Daly, Josh Austerfield and Danny Grant.

The intensity and cut-throat nature of League Two, a world away from the comparatively sedate pace of academy football, was an eye-opener, according to Diarra, but one that has brought his game on and prepared him for the next stage of his evolution in the 22-23 campaign.

He continued: "Harrogate was a really good time. The fans, manager and the players were all good with me.

"Personally, I was not sprinting a lot before and at Harrogate, I improved in this and now I can do this in the Championship.

"Every game (in League Two) is a fight, but I enjoyed that."

Relegation-threatened Town return to action after the international break with a Championship home game with Middlesbrough on Saturday.