Angus Kinnear comments on Andrea Radrizzani’s commitment to Leeds after disappointing season

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Leeds United didn’t enjoy the greatest start to life under Andrea Radrizzani.

Leeds United’s managing director Angus Kinnear has told talkSPORT that he thinks Andrea Radrizzani is even more committed to the club after a poor first season.

Italian businessman Radrizzani initially bought 50% of the club from Massimo Cellino last season before securing the club last summer, with plenty of changes coming.

Victor Orta arrived as director of football whilst Thomas Christiansen came in as the club’s new manager, guiding Leeds to a strong start to the season.

However, Christiansen couldn’t sustain that success, and was sacked in February, with Paul Heckingbottom arriving from Barnsley as his replacement, winning just four of his 16 games so far.

That has ultimately turned some fans against Radrizzani, believing that he has made a terrible error in appointing Heckingbottom, and that’s just one part of a difficult first year at Elland Road, which included a nightmarish release of a new club badge, which was rejected by fans.

Orta’s poor signings have soured some opinion towards Radrizzani, as has the recent controversial trip to Myanmar for a post-season tour, and Radrizzani today sold 10% of Leeds to a party relating to the San Francisco 49ers.

Now, Leeds’ managing director Angus Kinnear has told talkSPORT that he will never apologise for attempting to take the club forward, and believes that Radrizzani is actually more committed to the club after a difficult first season.

“Andrea and I will never apologise for trying to push the club forward, and in areas we’ve gone wrong – such as the badge – we’ve been quick to hold our hands up and listen to the fans,” said Kinnear. “We’ll always put the fans at the heart of what we do. But this year we really want to focus back on the football. There is really only one metric for success at Leeds United, and that is getting Leeds back into the Premier League.”

“Andrea remains as committed as ever… probably even more committed following the experiences of last season. He’s very determined to do everything in his power to make sure Leeds go back up. And I think this is the first sign, and I’m confident there will be more across the summer which should give fans confidence we’re moving in the right direction, and that our commitment to get the club up is greater than ever.”