four years – as a late substitute, in a 4–0 loss against Tottenham Hotspur. However, his first-team appearances at Huddersfield Town continued to be restricted to the substitute bench for the most of the 2017–18 season. On 11 May 2018, Whitehead announced his retirement from professional football at the end of the 2017–18 season. He made his last appearance for the club (and his football career), coming on as a late substitute, in a 1–0 loss against Arsenal in the last game of the season. Coaching career Following his retirement, Whitehead took up a coaching role at Huddersfield Town as part of David Wagner's first-team technical staff, having earned a UEFA A coaching license, and took charge of the Club's new Under-17 Academy age group from 1 January 2019. By October, he took charge for Huddersfield Town's Under-17s side. On 16 November 2019, Whitehead joined Sam Ricketts' backroom staff at League One side Shrewsbury Town, replacing Joe Parkinson as first-team coach. On 25 August 2020, Whitehead was promoted to assistant manager after the departure of Jon Pitts and Graham Barrow. On 25 November, Whitehead and Ricketts were relieved of their duties with the club sitting 23rd in League One with just 9 points from a possible 39. Whitehead joined the coaching staff at League Two side Port Vale in July 2021 as part of director of football David Flitcroft's summer overhaul; manager Darrell Clarke said that Whitehead "is definitely someone our squad can look up to". Having helped Vale to win promotion at the end of the 2021–22 season, he moved to Turkey in July 2022 to coach alongside Adam Murray at Süper Lig champions Beşiktaş. He left the club when head coach Valérien Ismaël was sacked three months later. He joined Cardiff City as a first-team coach in November 2022. Following the sacking of Mark Hudson on 14 January 2023, Whitehead was placed in interim charge of the first-team at Cardiff City. Personal life Growing up, Whitehead was raised in a football-loving family and supported Liverpool. He has a brother, Craig. During his time at Huddersfield Town, he was known as 'Whitesey' by his teammate Tommy Smith, who gave him a nickname. He is good friends with Liam Lawrence, having been teammates at Sunderland and Stoke City. During his time at Stoke City and Huddersfield Town, Whitehead resided in Cheshire with his wife, Louise, and their two sons, Olly