Lee Clark: “I am very perplexed as to why I was dismissed as the manager of Huddersfield Town. Needless to say I am extremely disappointed and shocked considering that, with just 16 games left, we are in a such great position to compete for automatic promotion.
“We built on last season’s momentum following the play-off final by creating history in the Football League record books for consecutive unbeaten games. This was an immense achievement by everybody connected with the club.
“I am massively proud of my record with Huddersfield and I enjoyed a fantastic relationship with the players, coaching staff, supporters and indeed everybody at the club.
“I now wish them all the very best for the future and hope they will ultimately achieve promotion this season.”
Supermac, who himself managed Huddersfield during the late 80s, cannot believe that Clark has been unceremoniously dumped by one of his old clubs.
Malcolm Macdonald: “I’m shocked by it. Lee had Huddersfield up in the top half of League One challenging for promotion in the last three seasons.
“He is one of the real up-and-coming bosses who was serving a great apprenticeship down there. They’re in contention for promotion and they’ve only lost three of their last 55 matches. Of course they lost to Sheffield United, but they are a good side and second in the table.
“I don’t believe this was a knee-jerk decision based on losing to Sheffield United. You can use a result like that as an incentive to push Lee and the team on – you don’t turn on him because of it.
“It has got to be something more deeper than that.
“Maybe the end of the season – if Huddersfield have not won promotion – is the time to take stock and say ‘we’ve backed you but we feel someone else can take us to the Championship’.
“But you don’t find managers in the top four being sacked in February. It is bizarre. If I was approached by Huddersfield to succeed Lee, I would say ‘what do you expect from me?’”