Paul Lambert started with a win and then ended one of the best rumours of the transfer window.
The Scot guided his new boys to a morale-boosting victory over a worryingly poor Huddersfield in his first match in charge after replacing Mark Hughes before ruling out a Chelsea move for Peter Crouch.
Second-half strikes from Joe Allen and Mame Diouf secured a key three points at a relieved bet365 Stadium, where the 36-year-old target man came off the bench with the game won.
Crouch’s absence from the starting line-up triggered thoughts that an unlikely, much-publicised switch to Antonio Conte’s men could well be on the cards.