"Really boring" - MK Dons warned over potential Michael Duff appointment after Huddersfield Town stint | OneFootball

Duff is said to be one of two names interviewed for the vacancy at Stadium MK

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Michael Duff could be set for a swift return to football management following his Huddersfield Town departure earlier in March - but he may be dropping down to League Two for his next role.

The 47-year-old was dismissed by the Terriers hierarchy after a 1-0 defeat away at Bristol Rovers, which was a fourth defeat in the previous five league matches for Town.

The West Yorkshire outfit had dropped out of the League One play-off spots because of that result, and the decision was made to part company with Duff, who was not allowed to see his first season out as Huddersfield boss.

Huddersfield Town verdict issued on Michael Duff, MK Dons links

As per an FLW exclusive though, Duff could soon be back in work, having had an interview with League Two side MK Dons.

Along with ex-Swansea City boss Luke Williams, who succeeded Duff as head coach of the South Wales outfit following his 2023 departure, the Dons - currently 17th in the fourth tier standings - have spoken to both regarding the job, with Ben Gladwin in temporary charge until the end of 2024-25.

And FLW's Terriers fan pundit Nick Barlow believes that MK Dons could be a good starting point for Duff to work his way back up the English footballing pyramid, although he has pointed out how unlucky the ex-Northern Ireland international defender was due to the injuries he had to contend with at Town.

"I think Michael Duff was unlucky really with us," Nick told FLW.

"If you take into account the amount injuries we had, I think we had about 18 players off in one go, we're now up to about 33 injuries this season so far, so it was always going to be tough for Duff, I felt a bit sorry when he got sacked.

"Having said that, the football was really boring. He insisted on a 5-3-2 formation which didn't really work. But look, the bloke's experienced at League One level, he did alright with Barnsley, it didn't work out at Swansea City so it's difficult to know his level really.

"I would say definitely he's League One level. It would be a surprise to drop down to League Two, but MK Dons is a decent sized club which is on the up. It's always been quite ambitious so there's no reason why he couldn't get them into League One, and hopefully he's got scope to build a project with them (if he gets the job).

"It wouldn't surprise me, but I have to say there's not a lot of promising prospects in League One at the minute - I don't think he'd get a Championship job so it probably makes sense for him."

Michael Duff should consider snubbing MK Dons and waiting out for League One job

Even though Duff was sacked by the second club in succession he's worked for, Nick has rightly pointed out that injuries really depleted his squad depth at times - whether that was down to his training methods or not is another matter.

Come the end of the season, we will truly know if it was the right decision by Huddersfield owner Kevin Nagle to dispense of Duff's services, but either way, potentially dropping into League Two so soon after exiting the John Smith's Stadium could feel a bit sudden to some.

MK Dons have struggled this season under Mike Williamson and then Scott Lindsey, despite being one of the pre-season favourites for promotion, but there is definitely potential there - they have a huge, modern stadium, a big catchment area and they have been in the Championship before, albeit a number of years ago now.