Wagner saw the emerging coach in Hudson and handed him the reins of the club’s Under-23 side. Looking back on his coaching journey to date Mark knows that was a pivotal decision for his development. He stressed:

“My first real experience was in the Academy at Huddersfield which is a pressure-free environment. I loved it, as a learning route it is the perfect transition and you need that as a player. You are not ready when you finish up without that. You have to learn to be yourself, you can see different things as an experienced player but football is borrowed learning. You have to deliver it YOUR way. Now I feel comfortable doing that, about how I want my teams to play and getting that across to players. It has to be authentic.”

The DNA of the coach Hudson is now was fashioned under Wagner at Huddersfield. Yet its origins can be traced back to a spell working under Scot Malky Mackay at Cardiff City as he transformed the Welsh club and led them in a memorable campaign in Hudson’s first career promotion to the Premiership. Mark revealed:

“I thought Malky’s approach to creating a bond with players and a team was superb. We only had 11 players when he came in and his recruitment was excellent, he had to fill that group up to compete. Not every signing was bang-on but he got the majority right to get us promoted to the Premiership.

“He was straight down the line, he said it like it was and I learned so much. You see people get longer than Malky got at Cardiff and still not get it right and he did it on a limited budget. Cardiff is a lot about location, the players and their families have to commit to the area in Wales and he researched the background of his signings superbly.”

The lessons learned under Mackay, now in charge of Scottish Premiership side Ross County, have stayed with UEFA Pro Licence holder Mark as his managerial career progresses. As a player Hudson was captain of Charlton Athletic, Cardiff City and Huddersfield Town.

Gaffers of the calibre of Mackay and Wagner entrusted him with the role of leading their teams. Hudson smiled:

“You don’t get given the captain’s armband if you’re a ****! I enjoy being a leader, I saw it as an honour and it is all about connecting people. That’s something I focused on during my Pro Licence, I studied all the leadership styles and how they can translate into coaching.

“Mine is without doubt about how you connect people and get them to believe in the same mission. I was doing that without knowing it as a captain on the field. The modern coach is driven towards understanding people more.”

The main man in the dugout

Before taking over as interim boss of Cardiff Mark did have previous experience of being the main man in the dugout, in the English Premiership too. Hudson once had to shrug off the pain of seeing his coaching mentor Wagner lose his job – and face up to taking over the reins against Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City!

Back then, in January 2019, Mark glanced across the technical area and saw the coach who transformed the face of football as he led Barcelona to 14 trophies in four unforgettable years.
Then he had to refocus and concentrate on the mission of somehow stopping Pep’s superstars. That unforgettable experience came at the end of a rollercoaster week.

On the Monday he stood in the Terriers’ dressing-room as the axed Wagner bade an emotional farewell to the team he had led into the Premiership. By the Sunday Hudson had to rally his team to face Pep’s all-conquering, soon to be English champions live on Sky Sports.

A daunting challenge. Yet it is a week he will never forget and he wouldn’t have had it any other way. Mark reflected:

“I was excited by the challenge, I never looked at the game and wished it was against someone else. This was managing in the English Premier League as a caretaker, I knew I wasn’t getting the next game even if I won so why not face the best? They were and are the best.

“On the Monday David came in to say goodbye to the dressing-room. He knew and I knew that I was taking over as caretaker. It was a very emotional Monday and the dressing-room was split between those who didn’t want to see him go and some who thought they had a chance now.

“I had already thought about what I was going to say. I knew I had to pick up a dressing-room to face Man City. I tried to present that week to the players as a chance to showcase what we could do both individually and collectively.

“The decision on David had been made and we still had our jobs to do for Huddersfield and the fans. I worked with Dean Whitehead and by the end of the week there were smiling faces and we were ready to go.”

Huddersfield were in the game at half-time, 0-1 down to Danilo’s deflected strike but two quickfire goals from Raheem Sterling and Leroy Sane put them to the sword. Mark’s plans of hitting City in transitional moments worked to an extent but they couldn’t find the clinical finishing that their visitors always carry in their armoury. There was honour in the defeat, though, and Hudson smiled:

“At the handshake at the start I told Pep he was welcome to come in for a watered-down Bovril at the end! He told me to never hesitate to contact him and that was great of him. I changed the team to try and counter-attack them, we lost 3-0 but I was as proud as I could have been of how we had worked in the week.

“There is an out of body moment when you think: ‘I’m coaching against Pep Guardiola.’ I loved it all, though, it was an amazing experience.”

Mark Hudson’s experience with Football Careers

“I got introduced to the Managing Director Piero Carrino through David Marshall at Cardiff City a long time ago and then again when I was finishing up my UEFA A Licence. So at that time you begin to think of your CV. At my A Licence he did a superb presentation and that set me thinking.

“My CV looks brilliant and the fact that Football Careers are so well regarded by the Welsh FA meant a lot to me because I rate how I have been treated in my licences there very highly. If the Welsh FA backed them, that was enough for me. My CV has set me up for my journey for sure.”