"No. In truth, it wasn't."

Martin Drury is a straight-talking man, open about the fact it was never in his plans to become a head coach.

Granted, he was in charge of Bradford Park Avenue in the National League North for much of 2015/16, but that came quite shortly after his retirement and he soon disappeared into the background.

Over the next decade, he built a coaching career that took in spells at Boston United, Bradford City, Manchester United, West Brom and Valencia.

Now at Huddersfield - the team of the town in which he was born - he is in charge in his own right. An interim spell from March led to a two-year deal in May.

Here, he tells Sky Sports about his journey from LaLiga to the Premier League to plotting the Terriers' way out of League One.

Six 'special' months in Spain

Drury met Carlos Corberan while he was at Bradford and the Spaniard was at Leeds. The two began to work together in August 2024 when Drury was appointed individual coach at West Brom.

"When I first met Carlos, I felt we connected from a work ethic perspective and we were very much aligned in how we saw life and earning everything you get in life through work," he says.

"On the football side, we were very much aligned on what we believed in and what we truly believed we could do with players. I think we have some similar characteristics, despite being from different cultures."

Corberan left for Valencia on Christmas Eve 2024 and Drury followed within a matter of days after being appointed as his assistant. A Championship play-off push was sacrificed for the challenge of keeping Los Murcielagos in LaLiga.

They almost had the perfect start, leading Real Madrid at the Mestalla until the 85th minute on January 3 2025, when Luka Modric levelled and Jude Bellingham scored the 96th-minute winner.

"I remember prepping for that game and thinking this was the type of environment I wanted to be in, to go up against players like Kylian Mbappe, Bellingham, Modric.

"To play them again at the back end of the season and win 2-1 - in the last minute, in the Bernabeu - was naturally the highlight and the connection between us and the fans there was something so, so special.

"We suffered in both of the games against Barcelona, but to see the quality of player at that level in the flesh and to prep for those games against some of the best managers in the world, the best players in the world, on a weekly basis, was something I loved."

"When we arrived, the club were rock bottom of the league and to finish so close to Europe by the end of the season, having picked up some points against giants was pretty special.

'Sometimes you have to assess whether you're the one for a club'

Drury was tempted back to the UK in July 2025, when he was appointed as one of Keith Andrews' assistant first-team coaches at Brentford.

But by early September, after just three Premier League games, he departed. "Martin has played an important role in setting us up for the season ahead," said director of football Phil Giles.

"It's an amazing club with brilliant people and I don't think you can do anything but respect what they do," says Drury.

"They're outstanding from top to bottom. Keith has done an unbelievable job and I really enjoyed it there.

"Sometimes in football, you just have to assess whether it's the one for you and whether you're the right one for the club.

"The conversations I had there were really open and honest, but I look at them from afar and I'm so happy with how they went last season.

"I genuinely think they'll be even stronger this season because Keith is a top manager, they've got a really good group of players and the club is run impeccably well from top to bottom."

Going back to where it all began

The premature departure from west London brought an unplanned pause in Drury's career.

"I moved back up north to be close to my family and it was the first time in 12 years I'd spent a little bit of time outside of football… which I absolutely despised!" he says, only half-joking.

"I'd not really had a break for 10 to 12 years, so I jumped out of that hamster wheel and, when I look back, it was quite productive in terms of connecting with people I'd not seen for a while, going and seeing different things, challenging myself and my thinking.

"I had a couple of opportunities to go into different clubs, but I said no because I felt I needed a little bit longer, then I was really fortunate to get a call from Liam Manning, who asked me to come into Huddersfield with him.

"I'd known Liam a little while before that and Huddersfield's close to my heart, so I was looking forward to coming in and looking to build something special."

In January 2026, Drury was appointed assistant manager to Manning and, in late March, along with Jon Stead, he stepped up to take charge when Manning was given compassionate leave.

A statement from on the club's official website said: "Liam made the club aware of ongoing personal matters relating to the tragic passing of his newborn son Theo in October 2024".

Huddersfield won two and drew four of the seven games Drury led, missing out on the League One play-offs by eight points.

'When I believe in something, I can feel very strongly about it'

Drury's permanent appointment came on May 27. The club said he had established himself as the "outstanding" candidate.

In spite of his lack of prior desire to be in charge in his own right, he was all in on the project.

"I love coaching, I love being on the grass, I love working with players - but I'm pretty driven and when I really believe in something, I can feel very strongly about it.

"In the back of my mind I thought, at some point, if I feel so strongly about a certain way of working, a culture and an environment that I want to create, maybe I was going to have to do this from the front. That wasn't something I was concentrating on, but you can never be too surprised in football.

"When the opportunity became apparent, the decision was really clear for me.

"When there was a little bit of turbulence towards the end of the season, I never felt it was a real challenging environment to work in or difficult people to work with. I felt there were a lot of people who wanted the best for the club.

"The fact we've now had one window and we've been able to address some areas of the group we wanted to try and strengthen, I think the players who were here last season have probably appreciated the work that's gone on because it's going to help them.

"There's some connection building in the group; that's going to take some more time, as it always does when you bring in new players. But it's a real humble group of men where, every day, the environment is driven by development, with a real winning edge and a competitive focus on it."

Drury knows what he wants - he wants his team to epitomise the spirit of the north.

"When I'm standing on the side of the pitch, I want to see a team that represents Huddersfield. I want to see players running and giving absolutely everything," he adds.

"Being a northern lad myself, I know what these northern fans want.

"If we do that, I have genuine belief that, because of the players and staff we have, success will be achieved."

Watch Burton vs Huddersfield live on Sky Sports+ on Saturday October 3; kick-off 3pm.