20 May 2023 , 08:00
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Acknowledging the serenading Huddersfield faithful, Neil Warnock did a lap of hour around the John Smith's Stadium in the knowledge it could finally prove to be his last in football.
Warnock completed the ultimate 'great escape' to keep the Terriers in the Championship after being appointed in February, guiding them from 23rd to safety with a game to spare. After their final-day victory over Reading, the Huddersfield fanbase applauded the 74-year-old as he saved yet ANOTHER club.
Warnock will be recognised as arguably one of England's greatest ever managers when he officially retires, having already broken the record for the number of professional matches managed in English football. He has now been in charge of 1,565 games - more than the likes of Roy Hodgson, Sir Alex Ferguson and Nigel Clough.
There is a secret to Warnock's success, however. Speaking in an exclusive interview with Mirror Football, Greg Halford, who worked with Warnock twice, hailed his former boss as the best man-manager he has ever witnessed.
Halford said: "I first had him at Rotherham before I went to Cardiff. I was a bit apprehensive to be honest with you when he first came to Rotherham because I was supposed to sign for Sheffield United from Colchester.
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"I turned him down without even speaking to him because we played Sheffield Utd earlier in the cup and he wasn’t that complimentary to us. So, I turned him down straight away and nowadays managers hold grudges.
"When he came to Rotherham, fortunately for me, he brought in an ally in Kevin Blackwell who ended up being my manager at Sheffield United. He brought me straight back into the fold and I never looked back.
Greg Halford and Neil Warnock (Getty Images)"He would probably say he isn’t the best coach in the world, but in terms of man-management and getting the best out of players, there isn’t anyone better. That’s probably the biggest regret that I have in my footballing career. I wish I worked for him earlier when I had the opportunity to."
Having saved countless clubs from the dreaded drop, Warnock has embraced the nickname 'the footballing fighter' in recent years - but his real challenge came at Rotherham in 2016. The Millers were 22nd and three points from safety. It looked an almost thankless task, but Warnock managed to keep them up.
After Warnock left his role as Rotherham boss at the end of the season, he spent five months out of the game before being appointed at Cardiff. Warnock turned the Bluebirds from a relegation-threatened outfit into promotion-contenders in his first full season in charge as they finished second, behind eventual champions Wolves. This became a common theme, with Warnock later saving Huddersfield.
However, Warnock has a personality different to many other managers. We've all seen the classic footage of him berating his Sheffield Utd players during a team talk, but there's more to Warnock's style and approach than perhaps meets the eye. Halford outlined how Warnock is able to create a better mindset in the changing room, which has inevitably made him so successful in his career.
Neil Warnock will go down as a Cardiff legend (Getty Images)"His personality, his people skills, his managerial skills when it comes to the players and the staff and keeping everyone onside," Halford added. "I was involved in all 46 games that season, I didn’t start as many as I would have wanted to but it’s the happiest I have ever been. If you ask anyone, if you aren’t starting games you aren’t happy.
"But at that particular stage, he was just able to make everyone happy. I wasn’t the only one in that team, there are only 11 players that can start and we probably had a 23-man squad. There were these other players that weren’t starting and they were just as happy as I was.
Neil Warnock has enjoyed a successful career in management (Getty Images)"He was able to get into your psyche and create an atmosphere that is so good. You could see it at Huddersfield this year, they were pretty much doomed but he has come in for a few months and he has kept them up with a game to spare. That is the type of stuff he can do and it's just unbelievable. I’ve never come across a manager who has had man-management skills that are as good as his."
Halford isn't the only person to have mentioned Warnock's man-management as his best quality. Danny Cowley, Yannick Bolasie and Jack Rudoni are amongst those to have praised Warnock in recent times - and most players seemed to enjoy the time spent in his company.
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Halford continued: "My best experience in the dressing room was at Cardiff and there wasn’t one particular thing that stood out. But our togetherness, our friendships and the relationships we had with one another, not just the coaching staff but the secretary, the chefs, everyone.
"We all used to go out for meals regularly because we were that close. That was the biggest thing. For me, if you have a good changing room, that has the potential for you to go and have big success as a team. That is exactly what happened to us at Cardiff.
"We weren’t the best team in that year when we got promoted to the Premier League. We would have been top-six definitely, we weren’t top two. But our togetherness, grit and determination saw us over the line. So, for me, that is the best thing, the camaraderie."