Ipswich Town secured their return to the Premier League after a 22-year absence by seeing off Huddersfield Town 2-0 at Portman Road on Saturday.

Kieran McKenna's side, who only earned promotion from League One last year, required a point on the final day of regular-season fixtures.

Wes Burns put Ipswich on their way with a 27th-minute strike, before Omar Hutchinson sealed the deal early in the second period.

As it turned out, even a loss would have seen Town go up as Leeds failed to pick up the three points they needed in a 2-1 loss to Southampton.

Joel Piroe cancelled out Adam Armstrong's goal, but Will Smallbone restored the visitors' lead before half-time at Elland Road and at it remained that way.

Leeds will now face Norwich City in the play-offs after the Canaries dropped from fifth to sixth with a 1-0 loss to Birmingham City.

West Brom's 3-0 win over Preston North End ensured they finished the season in fifth, meaning a play-off semi-final date with Southampton.

Despite their home win over Norwich, Birmingham joined Rotherham United and Huddersfield Town in being relegated to the third tier.

That is due to Plymouth Argyle defeating top-six chasers Hull City 1-0, while Sheffield Wednesday eased to a 2-0 victory at Sunderland.

Rotherham's relegation was confirmed last month, while Huddersfield were effectively already down barring a miraculous set of results on the final day.

Huddersfield Town saw their relegation from the Championship all but confirmed after a 1-1 draw with fellow strugglers Birmingham City on Saturday.

The Terriers avoided a defeat that would have seen them relegated on Saturday, but even a win on the final day over promotion hopefuls Ipswich Town will not be enough unless they overcome a huge goal difference of 15 goals with Plymouth Argyle.

Birmingham remain in the other relegation place and now must beat Norwich City to stand a chance of staying up with Sheffield Wednesday, Plymouth and Blackburn Rovers also still in danger.

At the other end of the table, the Canaries dropped points in a 2-2 draw with Swansea City, leaving the door open for Hull City, who face Ipswich Town later today.

Huddersfield Town saw their relegation all but confirmed after a 1-1 draw with fellows strugglers Birmingham City.

The Terriers avoided a defeat that would have seen them relegated on Saturday, but even a win on the final day over promotion hopefuls Ipswich Town will not be enough unless they overcome a huge goal difference of 15 goals with Plymouth Argyle.

Birmingham remain in the other relegation place and now must beat Norwich City to stand a chance of staying up with Sheffield Wednesday, Plymouth and Blackburn Rovers also still in danger.

At the other end of the table, the Canaries dropped points in a 2-2 draw with Swansea City, leaving the door open for Hull City, who face Ipswich Town later today.

Darren Moore, an ex-Jamaican international, has been axed as Huddersfield Town head coach with the club languishing just three points clear of the English Championship relegation zone.

The Birmingham-born former defender, who twice represented the Reggae Boyz in 1999, leaves the West Yorkshire team with just three league triumphs in 23 games since taking charge last September.

He was sacked following a winless six-match run, culminating in the weekend’s 1-1 draw at struggling QPR when a stoppage time equalizer denied the 49-year-old a long overdue victory.

The former West Bromwich Albion and Sheffield Wednesday boss and his backroom staff leave after four months of seeing his side stutter during his 23-game tenure.

Having led Wednesday to promotion to the Championship last term via the play-offs, Moore took over from veteran Neil Warnock at the John Smith's Stadium.

Huddersfield had managed to stave off relegation from the second tier, while in contrast Moore masterminded a gutsy extra time 1-0 success over Barnsley Town in their League One play-off final at Wembley Stadium.

Although that seemed to be the start of something special for Moore — who played for the likes of Barnsley, Derby County, Portsmouth and WBA at club level — he left Wednesday by mutual consent after two years at the helm.

His appointment at Huddersfield was always deemed to be a gamble, which has now failed to pay dividends.

Huddersfield Town AFC’s official statement read: “Darren Moore has been relieved of his duties as Huddersfield Town manager.

“This decision was taken after our Sky Bet Championship draw at Queens Park Rangers on Sunday, which took Moore’s record as Town manager to three wins, 11 draws and nine defeats in all competitions.”

Moore kicked off his managerial career at WBA in 2018, having cut his teeth as interim head coach with the Premier League club to become only the second top-tier boss from the CONCACAF region. American Bob Bradley was the first head coach from the Caribbean and North American region, when he managed Swansea City in 2016.

Moore surprisingly left The Hawthorns in 2019 with 10 games remaining in the Championship and WBA in with a shot of automatic promotion in fourth place.

He joined League One outfit Doncaster Rovers a few months later, then was headhunted by Wednesday so jumped ship in March 2021.

Despite a highly successful stint at Wednesday, Moore left the promoted club in June because he failed to agree terms of a potential contract renewal with chairman Dejphon Chansiri.

Moore’s managerial career may have taken a blip, but with a proven track record of transforming the fortunes of teams outside the top-tier there’s little doubt he’ll be a wanted man soon in the British game.

Kenneth Paal equalised five minutes into stoppage time to rescue a point for QPR as they drew 1-1 with fellow strugglers Huddersfield.

Jack Rudoni’s 86th-minute goal looked like leaving third-from-bottom Rangers six points adrift of the Terriers – the team immediately above them in the Sky Bet Championship table.

But Ilias Chair’s right-wing cross was kneed into the top corner of the net by left-back Paal in the final stages and helped avoid a potentially disastrous home defeat.

A win would have taken QPR out of the relegation zone, where they have been since September, and leapfrogged Huddersfield. The draw means the gap remains at three points.

Both sides struggled to create clearcut chances, particularly during a scrappy first half, although Chair and young striker Sinclair Armstrong looked a threat for Rangers.

Playmaker Chair saw a weak shot comfortably saved by goalkeeper Lee Nicholls and sent in a wickedly-delivered corner from the left, but no-one could add a decisive touch.

Armstrong, meanwhile, fired high and wide from an acute angle during a frustrating opening 45 minutes for the hosts.

At the other end, Rhys Healey headed over from Sorba Thomas’ free-kick and had a shot blocked by Jake Clarke-Salter following good work on the right by Rudoni.

QPR boss Marti Cifuentes will have hoped for an improvement after the interval, but it did not materialise.

Instead, Huddersfield looked the better side, enjoying the majority of possession and going close when Michal Helik headed just over from Thomas’ left-wing corner.

It prompted Cifuentes to make a double substitution, sending on Paul Smyth and Elijah Dixon-Bonner in place of Chris Willock and the ineffective Lyndon Dykes.

That did make a slight difference, with Smyth adding some energy in attack and Dixon-Bonner shooting wide from near the edge of the penalty area, before Jack Colback’s left-footed strike was caught by Nicholls.

However, that was as much as QPR could muster before Rudoni broke the deadlock.

Rangers, who have shown a tendency to concede goals from set-pieces, failed to properly clear a free-kick and Radinio Balker’s shot fell to Rudoni, who fired past keeper Asmir Begovic.

The last-gasp equaliser will be a huge relief for Cifuentes but the R’s remain in deep trouble and must now hope that the arrival of Swiss striker Michael Frey gives them the impetus up front they have lacked all season.

Frey, whose signing from Royal Antwerp was announced shortly before kick-off, scored 33 goals in 69 games for the Belgian club and Rangers desperately need him to produce that kind of form in England.

Mnager John Eustace condemned the alleged racist abuse aimed at midfielder Juninho Bacuna during Birmingham’s 4-1 victory over Huddersfield.

The game was stopped late in the second half when referee Sam Allison went to speak to Eustace and Terriers counterpart Darren Moore after the issue was raised on the field of play.

Speaking afterwards, with his side having won after two goals from Siriki Dembele and one each from Koji Miyoshi and Jordan James, Eustace made his feelings clear.

“I believe that Bacuna was racially abused by one of our fans which is obviously disgusting,” he said.

“It’s not something that we expect in society, let alone football. Birmingham is very proud of how diverse we are as a club and a city and there is certainly nowhere near any room for that at all.

“It’s very disappointing. They have reported it, it’s bang out of order.”

Moore said of the incident: “It’s a shame that it’s going to cloud the game tonight, because from Birmingham’s point of view it’s a good three points for them, but the incident is going to overshadow it.

“The referee stopped the game, called both managers over, said there was an incident in the corner from a home spectator directed at the home player and though the home player didn’t want to report it, our player Tom Edwards heard it. Both players heard it clearly and it’s gone on report.

“They’ve got video evidence and we will let the footballing authorities, referee and match officials get to the conclusion with it.

“It’s not something we condone in the game, but it’s still there and we show our support.”

Eustace was pleased with the performance of Dembele, who opened the scoring in the third minute and added his second in the 64th, sandwiching Miyoshi’s strike after 23 minutes.

Michal Helik pulled one back in the second minute of stoppage time but James had the last word three minutes later.

Eustace said: “The performance was good, it shows that when you are clinical it makes a big difference.

“Performances over the last four or five games have been good, we haven’t got enough points from them and tonight we were very clinical in the final third, which was really pleasing.

“Dems has come in, we have given him a platform to play, it has been very frustrating from everyone that he hasn’t been able to play over the last six or seven games.

“The last two games I’ve had to get him the right minutes to be able to perform.

“Tonight was always going to be a game I wanted to start him in, so it’s been frustrating for me to only use him as a bit-part player in the last few games, but there is a method to my madness.

“We’ve had to protect him in the right way and I thought tonight he was outstanding.”

Moore was far from happy with the Terriers’ display.

“The performance obviously wasn’t the best in terms of what we have set in recent weeks,” he said.

“We gave ourselves a mountain to climb in terms of the first goal. When I look at all four goals they were uncharacteristic of us. Goals three and four we were in possession of the ball, gave it away and got punished for it.

“I didn’t think we were clean enough with the ball, I didn’t think our patterns were quite as effective tonight. It’s just a bad night.

“We will learn from this and we will to move on. We suffer together as a group and we quickly apply it because we’ve got a quick turnaround.”

Manager David Wagner expressed his pride as Norwich claimed a 4-0 Championship victory on his return to Huddersfield.

The Canaries continued their impressive start to the season as they stretched their unbeaten run to five games.

Josh Sargent pounced on a Lee Nicholls error to hand the visitors an early lead and score in a third-successive game.

The hosts’ calamitous start worsened when Matty Pearson conceded a penalty and Ashley Barnes converted from the spot.

Straight after the interval, the in-form Jonathan Lowe continued his feat of scoring in every game as he notched a fifth goal this term. And Adam Idah rounded off a delightful Norwich display with a late fourth as they rose to second place.

“We scored some very good goals and it was a deserved win,” former Huddersfield boss Wagner said.

“Nobody knows better than me how difficult this place can be and this was a big win from us.

“Coming to Huddersfield away from home, if you don’t take the lead or if you give chances away, the supporters can make a big difference.

“The players have done fantastic, used their opportunities and defended their goal with everything they had.

“(Goalkeeper Angus) Gunn was fantastic and it’s our first clean sheet and offensively we were able to break from that.

“Unfortunately, Sargent has a serious ankle injury but this goal shows the character and desire of him and the whole group.

“Overall, it was a very good performance and all our strikers have done great and scored and our substitutes made an impact as well.

“We can create good opportunities and score and this is good to know, but our whole performance was right today.

“The fact we scored four is pleasing but to keep our first clean sheet in the Championship this season, makes the win even greater.

“I’ll never rule anything out with the transfer window still open but I am very happy with the squad we have.”

It was another miserable afternoon for Huddersfield, who are still yet to record a victory this season.

Josh Ruffels went closest to handing the hosts a reprieve, but his goal-bound header was saved miraculously by Gunn.

“I can’t fault the effort at all,” said boss Neil Warnock. “There’s nobody on the pitch today who’s not given everything.

“The goals we’re conceding are silly and we can’t keep giving goals away like that – Norwich is a good side without giving them a goal.

“We started off really strong, on the front foot and I didn’t think they were going to cope with us and then we gave a goal away.

“And then the penalty’s very iffy and you’re two-nil down and you can’t believe it.

“The lads are giving everything and you can’t ask any more, but they’re very elementary goals and you can’t concede like that at this level.

“We’re getting in decent positions, but we’ve not been able to finish.

“At the end of the day, I can’t fault the effort and they’re giving me everything. And there’s a lot of the points of the game today that I did enjoy.

“But if you make mistakes like that at any level of football, you’re going to get punished and we can’t be doing that.

“I think we can beat anybody on our day but when we’re playing well, we shoot ourselves in the foot.”

Enzo Maresca praised his “improving” Leicester side after they edged out a narrow 1-0 victory at Huddersfield.

Summer signing Stephy Mavididi opened his account for the club midway through the second half for what proved to be the winning goal.

The £6.4million recruit from Montpellier unleashed a venomous strike from an acute angle which squeezed past Lee Nicholls at his near post.

Leicester enjoyed the majority of chances with Dennis Praet missing from a one-on-one position and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall lively throughout.

But it was Mavididi who was the match winner to secure new boss Maresca a third successive victory in all competitions this season since taking charge of the relegated Foxes.

“One of the things that we need this year is to not get frustrated and to be patient, because the chance will arrive,” Maresca said.

“We had at least five or six clear chances to score and, in the end, we completely deserved to win and have the three points.

“I said to the players that I need to know them and they need to know me.

“We started 40 days ago and I need to give them lots of information, but you can’t give it all in 40 days.

“Even defensively, we’ve already improved a lot against a team that are well-organised and created chances from throw-ins, corners and long balls.

“I’m very pleased with all the team and the effort that they did over the last week with three games and three wins.

“Especially today. It was exactly as I expected in terms of against a well-organised team that defended deep, so it was complicated.

“I’m pleased with Stephy, he scored and gave us three points. He’s working well and was very good against Coventry City last week.

“The reason why we brought him to the club was exactly for that today; good in one-v-ones who scores goals and give assists.”

It was a frustrating afternoon for hosts Huddersfield, who slipped to a third defeat in a row to start the campaign.

Michal Helik spurned a glorious opportunity in the first half to open the scoring when he blazed over from point-blank range.

And his defensive partner Matty Pearson missed an inviting chance to equalise as he headed straight at Jakub Stolarczyk.

“I enjoyed it,” said boss Neil Warnock. “The last thing I wrote on the board was ‘enjoy it’ and I think we did today.

“We covered every blade of grass and couldn’t give anything else; we’re just disappointed to lose to a goal like that because I couldn’t see them scoring.

“I thought their goalie made a couple of good saves in that first half and whenever we could, we tried to create things and we were on the front foot.

“I love having a go at them. They’ve got a good squad and two teams who can get promotion but thankfully we were only playing one!

“I think we’ve got to look after ourselves and we’ve shown today that we can go anywhere and have a really good game.

“Yes, the lads are disappointed but there’s nothing to be ashamed of today. There’s nothing but positives apart from the goal.

“It’s not easy to score goals, you need a bit of luck sometimes and they’ve had a bit today.

“Let’s hope it evens out a little bit. They say it does over a season but I’m not so sure, so we’ve got to make our own luck as well.”

Michael Carrick praised his Middlesbrough side’s control as they ran out 3-2 winners over 10-man Huddersfield in the Carabao Cup first round.

Kian Harratt gave Huddersfield an early lead but they had Jaheim Headley sent off in the 13th minute.

And Boro took full advantage with goals from Samuel Silvera, Isiah Jones and Riley McGree before Kyle Hudlin’s late consolation.

Carrick said: “I was happy with the game. It was a little bit of a test going behind and it was interesting to see how the boys coped with the setback. I’ve got to take responsibility for the first goal.

“As the game went on we took control and made the extra man count. We looked dangerous and had a good balance in the performance. All in all, there were a number of things that made it a good night.”

Carrick rallied behind 19-year-old Rav van den Berg, whose mistake led to the opener for Huddersfield.

The former Manchester United and England midfielder said: “We’ve asked them to play out from the back, we’ve had a lot of success playing that way so far. We’ve got no problems conceding that way and I was really happy with the reaction.”

Town manager Neil Warnock had no complaints about the red card and drew the positives from his side’s performance.

“Nobody let me down tonight,” he said.

“There were a lot of plusses. The crowd was very good. All the way through the lads gave me everything.

“It would have been a very interesting game with 11 men because I felt we could get at them a little more tonight.

“Jordan Rhodes did a super job moving into midfield and it was nice for the big man Kyle Hudlin to score at the end too.

“Everyone feels we’re going to be underdogs this season. I want us to try and enjoy games now. They’ve enjoyed working hard tonight and for that, you can forgive them.”

Neil Warnock has agreed a one-year extension to stay on as Huddersfield boss for the 2023-24 season, the Sky Bet Championship club have announced.

The 74-year-old came out of retirement in February for a second spell in charge of the Terriers, having previously been their manager from 1993 to 1995, and guided them to safety in the second tier.

The team recorded seven wins and four draws in their final 15 matches of the campaign as they moved out of the relegation zone and finished 18th in the table.

Warnock, whose assistant Ronnie Jepson has also agreed a one-year extension, said on Huddersfield’s official website: “After having conversations with (the club’s new chief executive) Jake Edwards, it became obvious that this was going to be a difficult job for me to leave and for anybody new to come into after what we’d built at the end of last season.

“I’ve agreed to stay on alongside Ronnie and, just as we did when we came back last February, we’re going to try and do the best we can with our squad that we can hopefully make one or two additions to.

“We’re quietly confident – I know what the club is all about and I have to say, the response I got after those last two games (home wins against Sheffield United and Reading) is something I’ve never experienced in my whole life. This is now a chance for me to put something back into the club and give us some stability during this transitional period.

“Once I knew that Sharon (his wife) was okay with me continuing, I’ve been fully concentrating on knuckling down to do the best we can in trying to get this great club up the league.”

Edwards said: “We’ve heard Town fans loud and clear, both at the Reading game and ever since. You all wanted ‘one more year’ under Neil and Ronnie, and this had to be our first order of business as we prepare for the new season.

“Neil and Ronnie have incredible knowledge and skill as a management team – that was clear in the job they achieved here at the end of last season. They also have an amazing connection with this club and our supporters, which is also so valuable.

“We’re so pleased Neil has agreed to stay on for another season. I know how determined he is to build on the job he’s done last season, and he offers us great experience and stability on the football side as we prepare for the prospective change of ownership.”

Neil Warnock hailed Huddersfield’s “unbelievable” final points tally of 53 after overseeing a 2-0 Sky Bet Championship win over relegated Reading in his last match before returning to retirement.

The Terriers’ great escape from the drop was confirmed courtesy of last week’s victory over Sheffield United, with Monday’s triumph – the seventh under Warnock’s temporary charge – the cherry on the top for the 74-year-old.

Prospective American owner Kevin M Nagle was in attendance at the John Smith’s Stadium for the match, with the points secured by stunning second-half goals from Josh Koroma and substitute Joseph Hungbo.

Koroma broke the deadlock after 49 minutes before Watford loanee Hungbo came off the bench to seal matters six minutes from time.

“I was pleased I could leave him (Nagle) a Championship club,” said Warnock, whose side ended the campaign in 18th spot, nine points clear of the relegation zone.

“I wanted to finish on a win and to get 53 points is unbelievable.

“These times you have to treasure. I told the players that because they don’t come along very often.

“You would have thought we had got promotion to the Premier League, with the crowd. You can’t tell me it would have been any more vociferous.

“But the fans know what a job it has been to turn it round. To see everyone stay behind at the end, I can’t put it into words.”

Asked what he might be doing when the Championship kicks off again next season, the south-west-based veteran suggested he might be watching League One champions Plymouth.

“It is great because me and my daughter go to all the home matches,” he said. “If Plymouth play Huddersfield first match, I might be watching Huddersfield again.

“I can sit down, have a nice meal, a nice glass of wine, no pressure, no worry about substitutions, get driven home… it’s perfect… until February.”

Huddersfield fans pleaded for one more year from Warnock, but he said: “You can’t do this for 10 months.

“I hate the motorways, I hate the hotels, I don’t need that at my age. But I don’t mind for 10-12 weeks!”

Noel Hunt, who could not mastermind a win during his tenure as interim Reading boss, admitted his own future remains unsure but reckons the future is bright for the Royals despite relegation.

“I have not even thought about it,” the Irishman responded when asked if he would like the role permanently.

“As far as I was told, this was until the end of the season and then who knows?

“I was pretty sure I was probably going back to the under-23s. But I have not had that conversation. So your guess is as good as mine.”

On Reading’s fall into the game’s third tier, Hunt said: “I have seen teams go down to League One and two years later be in the Premier League. Norwich and Southampton did it.

“Maybe a reset is going to be good and what the club needs. But we have a lot of good players signed here and a lot of good young boys coming through.

“So the future is bright, no matter what.”

Neil Warnock is open to another managerial challenge in the future, but says he will only return to work towards the end of next season after masterminding Huddersfield’s Championship survival.

The 74-year-old was tempted out of retirement in mid-February by a return to one of his former clubs, with the Terriers battling to get out of the relegation zone at the time.

A run of just one defeat in nine league matches saw Huddersfield complete a remarkable turnaround, with the 1-0 home win over promoted Sheffield United on Thursday night securing their place in the Championship and in turn relegating Reading to League One.

Warnock’s long managerial career has spanned more than 1600 games and included eight promotions.

While there are no immediate plans to stay in the game and plan for the start of the new campaign with Huddersfield, Warnock hinted should another interesting opportunity present itself early in 2024, he would give it serious consideration.

“It is lovely how it happened and the fans were fantastic last night, but it was hard work, probably the hardest job I have ever had really. But it is great to come away when you when you have been successful,” Warnock said on talkSPORT.

“The new (Huddersfield) owner is coming over, I think for the game (against Reading) on Monday, and no doubt I will have a chat with him.

“If I can help them at all (with thoughts on a new manager) I will do, but  a lot of people (already) have their own ideas about things like that.

“At the minute I am just concentrated on making sure we stayed up really. It gives them a better chance of building for the future.

“It is a good club, the fans have been brilliant, so I am pleased to put a bit back into it.”

Warnock added: “(After the season) I am going to be doing some shows, ‘an evening with’, and I have really enjoyed them.

“I have got some in May and June, then after the one in September, that is me done and then the time is our own really – there are one or two places which (my wife) Sharon wants to go to.”

Asked if he would consider a return to management again if an opportunity came up towards the end of next season, Warnock said: “That will do me – I don’t mind the end of February, March and April, (but) I can’t work any longer than that.”

Danny Ward scored the only goal as Huddersfield made certain of their place in the Sky Bet Championship next season with a 1-0 victory over Sheffield United.

The Terriers needed a point to ensure survival and Ward’s second-half effort proved enough as Neil Warnock’s side avoided a final-day relegation battler against Reading, who tumble into League One as a result of Huddersfield’s triumph.

The result caps a remarkable turnaround since Warnock’s appointment at the John Smith’s Stadium in mid-February, with Town losing just one of their last nine league matches including five wins in the last eight.

Victory over Yorkshire rivals United lifted Huddersfield five points above the bottom three, with the final round of fixtures to be played on Monday.

The Blades, who had already secured their return to the Premier League next season, dominated the early stages and penned the hosts in.

Huddersfield shot-stopper Lee Nicholls stood tall to make a great early save and keep out Daniel Jebbison after he raced through on goal in the eighth minute.

Blades striker Jebbison squandered another decent chance to fire the visitors ahead on the half-hour mark as he headed George Baldock’s cross over at the far post.

Warnock’s charges continued to absorb the pressure as United hammered on the door, and at stages in the opening 45 minutes, only keeper Wes Foderingham was in the visitors’ half.

Sander Berge was the next Blades player to have a crack at goal, but his tame effort barely troubled Nicholls.

The hosts were the first to show after the break with their first big chance of the match.

Tom Lees rose highest at the back post to meet Jack Rudoni’s teasing corner but his close-range header was blocked.

United manager Paul Heckingbottom quickly rang the changes as he threw on Oli McBurnie and Billy Sharp up front.

Foderingham pulled off a good stop to parry Josh Koroma’s effort wide after he nutmegged Chris Basham to force his way into the box.

And the pressure told two minutes before the hour as Ward’s crucial stunning strike, a curling left-footed effort from 25 yards which nestled in the bottom corner, fired Town in front.

The goal would have come as a huge blow to any watching Reading fans and Huddersfield came close to extending their lead when David Kasumu hit the side netting after being slipped through by Koroma.

United pushed hard for an equaliser in the closing stages but Warnock’s charges held firm sparking widespread celebrations in the stands.

Neil Warnock urged Huddersfield not to let their rescue mission slip after victory at Cardiff took the Terriers to the brink of Sky Bet Championship survival.

Huddersfield won 2-1 at Cardiff through Joseph Hungbo’s super strike and a Jack Simpson own goal to leave themselves needing one point from their final two games to stay in the Championship.

When veteran Warnock took over in mid-February, Huddersfield were in 23rd place and just one point off the bottom of the table.

“We’ve come this far and it would be the icing on the cake (to survive). We can’t let it go now,” said the 74-year-old.

“The lads enjoy playing for us and the euphoria is there but, when you’re in relegation trouble, jobs are at stake. I do feel a bit of responsibility.”

Huddersfield finish their season with two home games against promoted Sheffield United and 22nd-placed Reading.

“I’ve always thought it would go down to Reading, it still might,” said Warnock, who admitted to being emotional after Cardiff fans clapped him at the final whistle in recognition of this three-year spell there between 2016 and 2019.

“Sheffield United are a good side, people said they might take the foot off the pedal now they’ve got promoted.

“Looks like, didn’t it? They really took their foot off the pedal on Saturday when they won 4-1.

“But it just shows what you can do. I think the lads have probably surprised themselves, we’ve got better players than what they were achieving.

“Sometimes you do under-achieve and they just need an arm around them. I’m glad I’ve come in and done my bit because we needed an old head.

“I think if I’d been there for three months we’d have had a good chance of the play-offs, as it’s such an open league apart from Burnley.”

Cardiff’s own relegation fears were over after Reading had failed to beat Wigan on Saturday.

And Sabri Lamouchi’s Bluebirds were thoroughly outplayed in the second half, scarcely deserving Isaak Davies’ late back-heeled consolation.

“It’s a massive club and they deserve to stay in the Championship,” said Lamouchi, who was appointed Cardiff’s third manager of the season in January and whose position remains unclear.

“I’m proud about that. It is job done, massive achievement.

“I am happy to work with this squad, but it (the future) is not about what I want to do. It’s about what the club want to do. It’s very simple.”

Huddersfield took a huge step towards Sky Bet Championship safety with a 2-1 win at Cardiff.

Substitute Joseph Hungbo struck a powerful opener and Jack Simpson’s own goal secured Huddersfield a three-point buffer between themselves and the relegation zone.

Cardiff replied through Isaak Davies’ first goal of the season seven minutes from time and the Terriers held on to the three points when Lee Nicholls saved superbly from Rubin Colwill.

A draw on the final day at home to 22nd-placed Reading will be enough to keep Huddersfield up, although Neil Warnock’s side could guarantee their Championship status by avoiding defeat to promoted Sheffield United on Thursday.

Warnock was back on familiar ground having won a record eighth promotion at Cardiff in 2018 during a three-year stay in south Wales.

The 74-year-old came out of retirement in February with Huddersfield in 23rd place and just one point off the bottom of the table.

Cardiff could relax after their Championship status was confirmed on Saturday by Reading’s failure to beat Wigan.

Sabri Lamouchi has gradually improved the Bluebirds’ fortunes since his January appointment, with Sory Kaba largely responsible for their late-season flourish.

Kaba was rested to the bench after seven goals in 10 games, but the Guinean was introduced as early as the 13th minute in the Welsh capital as Kion Etete limped off.

It was not a welcome sight for the visitors, who had started well in the Cardiff drizzle.

Danny Ward, who played under Warnock during his three years at Cardiff, almost marked his return with a second-minute shot that Jak Alnwick pushed out at his near post.

Huddersfield attacks were also thwarted by brave blocks from Cedric Kipre and Mahlon Romeo as Cardiff struggled to fashion chances.

Romaine Sawyers blazed over from the edge of the box before the Terriers were almost undone after 39 minutes by a one-two between Jaden Philogene and Kaba.

Philogene raced in on advancing Huddersfield goalkeeper Lee Nicholls but lifted the ball into the side-netting.

Openings were just as scarce after the interval until Sawyers lost possession under pressure after 61 minutes.

Hungbo, on loan from Watford, pounced on the loose ball and cut inside Kipre to fire a vicious shot past Alnwick.

Huddersfield doubled their advantage eight minutes later as Jack Rudoni’s free-kick flicked off the head of Ryan Wintle to reach the far post.

Matty Pearson had timed his run perfectly but his header looked as if it was travelling wide before striking the foot of Simpson and giving Alnwick no chance.

The woodwork twice denied Huddersfield another goal as Josh Koroma hit a post before Jaheim Headley planted the rebound against the crossbar from just a few feet out.

Davies gave Cardiff hope with a clever back-heel from Romeo’s cross, but Huddersfield were not to be denied.