Neil Warnock says Huddersfield Town need rallying more than rollocking to escape Championship relegation

So whilst he plans to ruffle a few opposition feathers, starting at home to Nigel Pearson's Bristol City on Tuesday night, he is more likely to ruffle the hair of his own players.

As his former clubs Rotherham United and Cardiff City have picked up form, the Terriers have lost their last two matches 4-0.

It means they play their game in hand on the teams above (except Wigan Athletic, who are at West Bromwich Albion) with a seven-point gap to safety.

Some of the goals conceded to Coventry City on Saturday infuriated the 74-year-old but he recognises a fragile side need more arms around shoulders than kicks up backsides.

Having been part of Warnock's 2016 Rotherham side which pulled off an improbable escape from Championship relegation, Danny Ward knows his methods work.

"I've got to be like a fan," said Warnock. "I've got to get my blue-and-white scarf around my neck and do the best I can to get them going. I've got to conjure some sort of magic.

"You can't be harsh now with the group of players I've got. If I think there's a rollocking needed at half-time I can do that but in general it's not a time for that, it's a time for getting the best out of what you have, trying to make them less fragile.

"We're very limited in certain areas in the type of player we've got and when you lose or leave one or two out you've not really got a replacement any better."

Throughout Monday's pre-match press conference Warnock constantly spoke of pride, and he wants to see the players match his.

"It's all right people saying, 'Don't drop your heads' or 'Don't throw your towels in' but mentality is a strange thing," he commented.

"I've got to keep reminding them they're playing for a crowd that pay their money to come here, that work hard and have got problems at home themselves. Stop feeling sorry for yourselves, you're lucky to be a footballer in the modern day and to get paid for a wonderful job at a wonderful club so get off your backsides and get stuck in.

"It's a matter of trying to get the best out of them while I'm here and making sure the fans are not let down. It's pride, and pride for me.

"My reputation won't get tainted by a relegation because I think everyone knows the situation we're in but we've got to ruffle a few feathers, get a few scalps between now and the end of the season."

He insists this is not him mellowing in his fifth decade as one of football's most formidable managers.

"I don't think I've changed at all," said the man who began his management career at Gainsborough Trinity in 1980. "I might have calmed down a little on the bench but even then I still have my moments.

"Management's not just about playing and managing, you've got to be a psychologist and a psychiatrist.

"I've been a psychologist for nearly 50 years. When people tell me we're getting a psychologist in I think, 'He's already here.'

"I saved clubs a lot of money doing five positions!"

Ward has already felt the love from Warnock, his manager at Rotherham and Cardiff. He made a point of ringing his striker before he even arrived at Huddersfield.

"He said he wanted me to play," said Ward, who had been injured since New Year's Day.

"I knew it was probably a bit sooner than planned but I'd tested it with the physios and fitness coach so I knew I was able to do it. I just wanted to get back playing. It gives you massive confidence to know the gaffer really believes in you."

He insists his team-mates believe in themselves, too.

"Rotherham's been mentioned a few times (by Ward) but the lads are still in good spirits and confident we can get out of this position," he said.

"The table doesn't look great at the moment but we've got enough experience in the team to know a couple of wins and it looks a lot healthier. Belief and confidence are massive."

Bemoaning a lack of characters to deal with setbacks, Warnock is keeping an eye on the free agent market, but nothing has taken his fancy yet.

"I've had a couple I've spoken to but not in positions I think we need and it's pointless bringing somebody in for the sake of it," he said.

"If I thought somebody could do a job for us from now until the end of the season I would bring them in because we are short in certain areas

"I wish I could have come a few months earlier when something like Sorba Thomas (being loaned to Blackburn Rovers) happens. I tried to sign him the day Huddersfield did.

"I could have advised on numbers in the squad in particular positions because it is a little bit out of synch but it is what it is now."

The extent of Jaheim Headley's hamstring injury is still being assessed, but the left-back will not feature against the Robins.

Last six games: Huddersfield Town LLWLLD; Bristol City LLWDDWReferee: L Doughty (Lancashire)Last time: Huddersfield Town 2 Bristol City 0, May 7, 2022, Championship