Nice guys don’t lack clear plan

A LOT of people struggle to get their heads around the idea that corrective action does not necessarily have to be remonstrative – particularly in football, an industry where iron fists, thrown teacups and hairdryer treatments have for decades formed the prevailing image of what it is to be an effective football manager.

It certainly has its place. When egos grow out of all proportion to the point of a lack of effort, the adroitly-wielded blunt weapon of a few home truths to flatten them out can go a long way.

But I do not believe that is the case with a majority of the players at Huddersfield Town – and, much more importantly, neither does Danny Cowley, who on Sunday spoke of his desire to help a psychically wounded group of players rather than piling on further bruises with excessively tough love.

He said after Sunday’s defeat to Sheffield Wednesday: “Sometimes when you’re hurting and you’ve been beaten up it becomes hard to fight.

“We’ve just got to help them a little bit and we will. I live my life this way, I see the best in people, it’s just how I work and my existence is much better [for it].

“We can all see the worst in people, all of us have weaknesses, but for me I like to see the best in people and I’m going to try to bring the best out of the people of Huddersfield and when we do that we’ll start to enjoy some success.”

If some of the contributions to our writer Q&A on Wednesday are anything to go by, then words like those will rankle with certain sections of the Terriers fan base, who believe the players have been over-protected and over-indulged for too long and need nothing more than a rocket up them.

Let’s be honest: that probably does apply to a few players in that camp. But, by and large, in Town’s performances I see a team that are making a lot of effort but are seizing up at crucial moments because they lack the confidence to try something different and fail.

Is the way to fix that really to offer the players outside for a right sort out and tell them to bring their dinner and all?

No. It is a distressingly com

You do not achieve the success the Cowleys have by allowing passengers in your

squad