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'I want' - Huddersfield Town sporting director Chris Markham lifts lid on recruitment and League One ambition Huddersfield Town’s sporting director Chris Markham has lifted the lid on planning for the season ahead Huddersfield Town’s sporting director Chris Markham does not believe defeat in the next League One play-off final would necessarily mean the club’s campaign was unsuccessful. The Terriers were relegated from the Championship in 2024 and have since underwhelmed across back-to-back campaigns in the third tier, finishing 10th and ninth respectively. Martin Drury has not only been tasked with getting Huddersfield among the promotion contenders next term, he has the job of reinvigorating a weary fanbase. League One ambition In an appearance on BBC Radio Leeds, Markham was asked if a run to the play-off final and subsequent defeat could be reflected upon as a successful season if entertaining football was played and fans flooded back to pack the Accu Stadium. He responded: “Yeah - because last season we finished ninth and the season before that we finished 10th, and nobody liked it.” Huddersfield Town’s recruitment Markham also lifted the lid on the club’s recruitment, which has not been quite as aggressive as it was during the last summer window. The Terriers have signed Matty Young on loan and tied Ibane Bowat, Ilias Bronkhorst, Ethan Brierley, Derensili Sanches Fernandes and Ashley Fletcher to permanent deals. For Huddersfield’s sporting director and head coach, the creation of an adaptable squad has been a priority. He said: “What we are going to do, and I think this has been a big emphasis on myself and Martin building the squad this summer, is put players in a position to show their strengths and not try to give people roles that they aren't capable of doing. “So, I think, from that point of view, we want to free the players up and sign players to suit the profile and the roles that we want to do. And also, Martin is an extremely adept coach. We've spoken a lot around having an adaptable squad. “The last thing I want Huddersfield Town to be is predictable, both from the opposition's point of view and from the fans' point of view. I want people to be excited, I want people to wonder what's coming next and that's really the intrigue that we want to create. “We've been trying to build a squad that gives Martin the opportunity in any given game to be like, ‘you know what, I think this is the team for today’. And, actually, the challenge of the game next week might be totally different.” Martin Drury’s job security Lee Grant was sacked from his role as Terriers boss in January with Huddersfield occupying the final play-off place. Fans have been left to ponder whether Drury will find himself suffering a similar fate if Huddersfield are sixth at the midway point of the upcoming campaign. When asked if Drury would be shown the door in that scenario, Markham said: “I think there’s more to it than just being sixth in the table. “Everything in terms of how that decision was made and how it will be made is very much a group discussion. This isn’t just me wielding an axe or anybody really. We have a lot of positive conversations as a group - myself, David [Threlfall-Sykes], Kevin [Nagle], Michael [Thomas], other people whose opinions we value. We want to make sure that everything’s balanced and everything’s done with the long-term goal in mind.”