TAKING over a side in January is rarely straightforward.

That's proving to be the case for Huddersfield Town head coach Liam Manning.

Most experienced observers would suggest that the time to truly judge him is next season after he is afforded a full pre-season to work with his players and truly mould a group in his own ethos. It is time you don't really get in the final third of a campaign.

Manning has not had the benefits of a full transfer window yet either.

Liam Manning's Huddersfield Town could not overcome Port Vale.

placeholder image — Liam Manning's Huddersfield Town could not overcome Port Vale.

But there's also the here and now, having taken over a club who are plainly desperate to get out of League One. A significant part of Manning's remit involves delivering a short-term fix with Town's promotion prospects in jeopardy when he arrived.

They still remain in the balance now and while Manning would naturally like to be judged next season, he is also conscious of the present.

He said: "If you look back at the experiences I've had at Oxford and Bristol, the first period is very much that (results).

"You are walking in and there's a different group of players and different styles and ways of working, while at the same time, you are trying to get results as you get judged and assessed on what you look like after 10 games now.

Huddersfield Town boss Manning, pictured with assistant Martin Drury. Picture: Tony Johnson.

"That's where football has probably changed and the world looks different now to what it probably did a good few years ago. It's expecting it and why we signed up for it.

"It's 'how do we get everything out of the group we've got' and I genuinely believe its a group capable of making the play-offs.

"We have to push for that and behind that, things naturally evolve in time in transfer windows and how I see the game and what profiles I need. That's something I think will happen gradually."

Town's recent form on the road has been poor and they head to Vale Park on the back of three dispiriting 1-0 losses.

They face a side who are winless on home soil at league level since New Year's Day.

Rock-bottom Vale have not a home league match this term when the away side has had 11 players on the pitch at the start of second half. They have picked up three points on just two occasions in Burslem so far in 2025-26.

Manning added: "We know the last few away (games) have not been where we want to be. Saturday is an opportunity to correct that.

"For me, it's not chasing the result, but chasing the performance that will get us a result."