Pep Clotet says he would have loved to stay at Leeds United.
Birmingham City caretaker manager Pep Clotet says he is disappointed his spell at Leeds United was cut short.
Clotet was Garry Monk’s assistant at Leeds and his time at the club came to an end when Monk resigned in 2017.
Monk and Clotet were in opposing dugouts this week when Birmingham took on Sheffield Wednesday, and the pair have since fallen out spectacularly.
There was no post-game handshake after the game, with Monk turning his back on Clotet.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Clotet expressed his regret at the falling out.
He told Birmingham Live: “All those five years together that was very clear, I always put his personal interests ahead of mine, very clear in Swansea, very clear in Leeds – a club where I was living like a honeymoon, a club I would loved to have stayed – but it was not possible because of his position.”
At Leeds the duo seemed so close, and their partnership had appeared key to the club’s good run in 2016/17, when they just narrowly missed out on the play-offs.
Clotet is currently caretaker boss at Birmingham and this public spat has actually enhanced his chances of getting the gig full time, with supporters and press rallying around him amid criticism from former boss Monk.
The pair worked together at Birmingham before their falling out, with Monk sacked in June after 15 months in charge.
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