Mark Fotheringham: I am not at Huddersfield Town to make friends with players

The 38-year-old former Hertha Berlin assistant is the new man in the Town dug-out, with the Scot signing a deal until June 2025.

He takes over a side who have started the season poorly, with the 2021-22 play-off finalists second from bottom in the table with just two wins from their first nine Championship fixtures.

It has heightened fears that the Terriers - who face 11 matches before the break for the World Cup in mid-November - will be pitched into a third second-tier relegation battle in four seasons.

Dundee-born Fotheringham, who helped Hertha to something akin to a 'Great Escape' from relegation last season alongside Felix Magath and assisted in Ingolstadt's promotion to Bundesliga 2 in 2020-21, said: "I went to Germany to do my apprenticeship. I wanted to learn about the leagues and volume of games they play.

"We had the Covid period at Ingolstadt where it was relentless. We were playing games back to back, but really enjoyed it as a group as we knew it was a test and a big challenge and we became like a family together.

"This is the kind of environment I want to create here.”

Fotheringham got a watching brief from the stands as Town triumphed in the recent home win over Cardiff City.

His football style is 'aggressive' and 'front foot' and the working environment he will cultivate will be serious, intense and unapologetically Germanic.

He added: "What I will make clear is that I am not here to be the player's friend. I am here to win games and they are going to realise that. This is what gave me the chance to work at big clubs in Germany."