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With a beaming smile, a cheeky chuckle and a nod, Neil Warnock glanced around the main stand before kick-off as if to say, “Here we go again.”
Thirty years after first sitting in the dugout of his home, then on Leeds Road, Warnock is back in Huddersfield.
And 10 months after announcing his retirement from management, his 19th job begins here, a journey that began in 1980 with Gainsborough Trinity.
Many Huddersfield players and fans weren’t born when Warnock guided the Terriers to promotion at Wembley in 1995, but they will know of his legendary status at these venues.
Warnock will further cement his status in the hearts of Huddersfield fans if he guides them to Championship safety – they started on the 23rd and winless in 2023.
Neil Warnock was a picture of jubilation at the final whistle as he made a winning return to management
Taking his 19th job of his career, Warnock was immediately given a reality check early on.
But their first match couldn’t have gone much better and, after struggling to beat Birmingham, he praised his hard-working side for their performance of the season.
“Every one of them did their job today,” said Warnock, 74. ‘Some of them have never worked so hard before in their lives… now it has to be standard practice.
‘(Etienne) Camara had blood on his nose… lovely, I love it!
It never leaves your bloodstream. I just asked the players: “How do you feel after that?” That’s how I’m used to feeling!’
Patrolling his technical area in a club tracksuit and adidas Copa Mundials, Warnock took to his new job with a couple of smiles and nods from the home crowd.
But his facial expression soon turned from optimistic to melancholy as he watched his subpar defenders beaten by Birmingham after just six minutes.
It was a goal that highlighted the enormous task Warnock has in keeping Huddersfield in the division.
However after that the Terriers were fantastic. Yes, they made some unforced errors and the closing stages of the match were nervous, but this was a typical Warnock performance.
A banner was unfurled before the match reading: “You have to die for three points”, a nod to a Warnock catchphrase from his podcast and documentary about his time at Sheffield United.
In fact, his team gave it their all: they ran more, pressed better and counterattacked with an intention rarely seen this season.
Troy Deeney scored on six minutes as Birmingham took an early lead, the veteran striker latching on to the end of a Juninho Bacuna cross that evaded all defenders.
Warnock raised his hands to his head, one of the many expressions we saw here, after shoddy defending that underscored why Huddersfield have lost a league-high 17 games this term.
But then they hardly looked back, despite needing last-minute defending to see a mammoth 12-minute second-half stoppage time.
Camara hit the bar minutes after going from behind and then Joe Hungbo equalized after 25 minutes. The winger ran, sliced inside and unleashed a poisonous strike into the top corner.
Deeney almost restored Birmingham’s lead early in the second half when his crooked header hit the post, but then John Eustace’s side undid it with a long ball.
Goalkeeper Nicholas Bilokapic sent a long ball past the Birmingham defense and was perfectly controlled by Jaheim Headley, who then fired into the bottom corner to make it 2-1.
Huddersfield kept attacking and forced Birmingham into a couple of last-minute blocks, while Jack Rudoni could have been awarded a penalty after Harlee Dean grabbed his legs from behind.
Troy Deeney gave Birmingham City the lead in the first six minutes, but they failed to extend their lead.
Joseph Hungbo scored the equalizer just before the half hour mark as the Warnock players cheered that they can survive this season.
Jaheim Headley’s goal just after half time gave Huddersfield the vital three points
The result means Huddersfield move within two points of Rotherham in 21st ahead of a crucial few weeks.
Warnock admitted that he had trouble remembering some of his players’ names and only took charge this week.
Birmingham began throwing men forward looking for an equalizer when Deeney came close again, but the Terriers’ Australian goalkeeper Bilokapic made some good saves, most notably to deny Auston Trusty’s close-range try.
The Blues continued their onslaught, with Warnock and his assistant Ronnie Jepson metaphorically kicking and heading every ball as Huddersfield stood tall.
Warnock, who returned early from a romantic trip to New York with his wife Sharon this week, admitted that he barely knew half the names of his players.
“He kept saying to Ronnie (Jepson, his assistant), ‘Who’s that over there, what’s his name?’ Warnock laughed. ‘We have an outside opportunity to stay up, but we’ll try. Whatever happens, I want to have fun. I want the fans to have fun.”