Manning given leave after 'heart-wrenching' talks

Liam Manning was appointed Huddersfield boss in January [Shutterstock] Huddersfield Town sporting director Chris Markham has said the well-being of manager Liam Manning had to come first after he was given compassionate leave for the rest of the season. The League One side announced in a statement last week he would be standing aside temporarily after he "made the club aware of ongoing personal matters relating to the tragic passing of his newborn son Theo in October 2024". Markham said the decision was reached after a "heart-wrenching" conversation.

"It's been a very difficult situation for everyone involved in the club but most importantly and first and foremost for Liam Manning the person," he told BBC Radio Leeds. "He's at the forefront of our decisions and treating him in the right way from the outset of the conversations we had was the priority. "We spoke the day after the Plymouth game and we had a very honest and, to be honest, tough and heart-wrenching conversation.

"It very much became clear that Liam Manning the person needed some support and we were very quick in doing that. "Liam is the sort of person who doesn't want to let anyone down and didn't want to let anyone down. "A big part of our conversation with him was to give him the understanding that we don't think that's what he's done at all.

" Huddersfield boss Manning takes compassionate leave Plymouth beat Huddersfield to go seventh Manning took a short leave of absence from his role as Bristol City boss after the death of Theo. After he moved on to Norwich City last summer, having helping the Robins to a play-off finish in the Championship , he released a statement through the League Managers Association to say he "could not be more grateful" for the support from Bristol City. He was sacked at Carrow Road in November after just 17 games in charge before taking over from Lee Grant at Huddersfield in January.