Warnock, 74, had been in charge for an English league club record 1,603 matches spanning 16 teams when he appeared to call time on a 43-year career in management in April 2022 after leaving Middlesbrough by mutual consent. But the lure of trying to help Huddersfield, one of his former clubs, in their fight to beat the drop into the third tier, proved too strong to resist.

The new manager's impact was evident as Joseph Hungbo and Jaheim Headley scored their first goals for the Terriers either side of half-time as Huddersfield came from behind after Troy Deeney had given Birmingham an early lead. Huddersfield's victory ended an eight-match winless run in all competitions, and took them up one place in the table to 22nd - two points from safety.

"I think it's good for the club (me coming in as manger) at the minute because they haven't got to rush into appointing anybody," said Warnock. "We've got an outside chance of staying up when you look at the tough fixtures, but we'll give it a go and I said to the lads 'whatever happens, I want to enjoy myself'," he added after making seven changes to the team that started in a 3-0 midweek defeat by Stoke.

"And the fans, to stay behind like they did after that, that was a bit emotional walking around the pitch at the end." At the other end of the table, Burnley extended their lead at the summit with a 1-0 win at Luton, who finished with 10 men. Vincent Kompany's side broke the deadlock with 12 minutes left when Ashley Barnes scored from the penalty spot after handball by Gabriel Osho.

Luton defender Tom Lockyer was booked twice either side of the penalty. The Clarets moved 11 points clear of second-placed Sheffield United, beaten 3-2 by Millwall with the Lions' Tom Bradshaw scoring a hat-trick. Defeat for the Blades came after they had suffered a first loss in 11 Championship games at home to Middlesbrough on Wednesday.

Middlesbrough closed up to four points behind Sheffield United, but having played a match more, after beating QPR 3-1, with two goals from Chuba Akpom. Sunderland's play-off push suffered a setback after Bristol City fought back to draw 1-1 at the Stadium of Light. Jack Clarke put the hosts in front on the hour with a fierce sho, but Nahki Wells scored a stoppage-time penalty to secure a point for City.

Daniel Ayala's last-minute goal gave seventh-placed Blackburn a 1-0 win over Swansea, with Mick McCarthy securing his first win as Blackpool manager with a 1-0 victory over Stoke. Relegation candidates Rotherham slipped to a 2-0 home defeat against Coventry while basement club Norwich managed a goalless draw, with the match between Hull and Preston also finishing 0-0.

February 18, 2023

J. Headley

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