Liam Manning warns Dion Charles Huddersfield ‘can’t wait forever’

Liam Manning insists Dion Charles needs to use criticism from Huddersfield supporters as fuel to begin to fire for the club.

The striker was jeered off when substituted in the defeat to Doncaster and has managed only two goals in 42 league outings for the Terriers.

While backing Charles, Manning said he will be forced to use other options if he does not hit form soon.

“I thought Dion could cause them problems tonight, but it’s quite clear he’s low on confidence,” Manning said of the Northern Ireland international, who scored 17 and 16 goals in consecutive League One seasons for Bolton.

“It’s something we need to get around and make sure we give him a lift because we will need him ultimately. He’s done it at this level, so he has to step up and deliver because we can’t keep waiting.

“My role is sometimes to show people support and help them through these spells but, other times, I have to make tough decisions and leave people out because you can’t wait forever.

“It will be in Dion’s head now. We can tell players how great they are, show them goals they’ve scored before and talk about their records but if your first three actions in a game are poor, you’re not going to be thinking whether I’ve got confidence in you or not.

“Players need mental toughness and taking flak and stick is part and parcel of football. You have to use that as fuel to prove people wrong.”

Grant McCann said the fight from his Doncaster team was exactly what was required from a derby clash.

Luke Molyneux’s first-half penalty was the difference between the two sides as Rovers controlled the opening 45 minutes before defending resolutely against Huddersfield pressure after the break to climb further away from the relegation zone.

“You have to fight in this sort of game,” McCann said. “No game is ever going to be easy or pretty on the eye for 90 minutes.

“You’ve got to dig in and we’ve got a lot better at doing that. I think if you go back six or seven weeks then maybe we draw that game or even lose it with the pressure they put on us.

“But I think the confidence is running through the team now. I think the lads are understanding this league better with every week that passes.

“You can’t just always be a really good footballing team. I don’t want to come in after a game and say that we played really well but we lost. I’m more than happy to come in and say that we dug deep because we had to and that got us the win.

“We’ve done that against a very good team who haven’t managed a shot on target against us.”