Danny Cowley appointed Huddersfield manager after rejecting Sheffield Wednesday… with first game against the Owls

THE COWLEY brothers have left Lincoln to join Huddersfield, it was announced on Monday.

Having initially rejected the Terriers, manager Danny and assistant Nicky were strongly linked with Championship rivals Sheffield Wednesday.

Garry Monk signed for the Owls and Huddersfield have now managed to bag their first-choice target – chairman Phil Hodgkinson paying tribute to the club’s persistence.

But the recently relegated side won’t be able to congratulate themselves for long with attention turning to a Yorkshire derby against Monk’s Wednesday on the weekend.

Danny Cowley has agreed a three-year contract with Huddersfield and assistant Nicky is joining him in succeeding Jan Siewert.

Upon making a breakthrough in negotiations, Hodgkinson told the Terriers website: “Having approached Lincoln City and gained permission to speak to the Cowleys, they initially decided they wanted to continue the superb job they had done at that club and turned down the opportunity to discuss our job.

“At that stage we could have easily pursued one of the other options we had identified – all of which are fine managers – but David and I felt it was important to try and persuade them to talk to us.

“We firmly believed that they were the best men to take us forward, and we didn’t want to give up on them.”

Cowley, 40, cut his managerial teeth at Essex outfit Concord Rangers, guiding them to three promotions before a successful season with Braintree.

But it is at Lincoln where the ex-midfielder made his name, accompanied by brother Nicky and winning promotion from the National League to League One.

Along the way, the Imps were victorious in the 2018 EFL Trophy final at Wembley, the season after they reached the FA Cup quarter-finals.

In an open letter published on Lincoln’s website, the outgoing boss wrote: “The past three and a half years have been so unbelievably special. It has simply been a fairy tale for Nicky and I.”

When describing their decision to move, the letter read: “Nicky and I have a burning ambition to challenge ourselves at the highest possible level.

“We don’t know if an opportunity as good as this one will come around again and we never want to live with regret.

“It has been the greatest privileges for Nicky and I, to manage Lincoln.”