Alan Shearer says Javi Gracia will be fully aware that he wasn’t Leeds United’s number one appointment to be their new manager, but it shouldn’t bother him.
On February 6, Leeds booted out Jesse Marsch following their defeat to Nottingham Forest, two weeks later, a new face still hadn’t arrived and fans were starting to worry.
Several names were linked, and numerous deals fell through for one reason or another, as calls for ‘sack the board’ were growing louder and louder by the Elland Road faithful.
And whilst the powers that be at the club made a mess of the whole situation this month, they have come to a very strong decision to bring Gracia on board.
A key thing here is that he has Premier League experience, and whilst everyone seems to get sacked by Watford, he was one of their better and longer-serving coaches, which included a FA Cup final trip to Wembley.
It has started off in a perfect fashion because the Whites beat bottom-of-the-table Southampton in Gracia’s first game in charge, but Shearer did make it clear that a lot of work is still yet to be done, as he told Premier League Productions.
“He probably knows that he wasn’t the first choice,” says Shearer. “That’s fine, it shouldn’t matter to him. He has got to get in there and get them going.
“He hasn’t got time. It’s not a friend for him anymore. Leeds are in big trouble. They needed someone to come in and steady the ship. Try and get as much belief back into that team.”
GRACIA WILL KEEP LEEDS UP
If Leeds pushed for Gracia as soon as they sacked Marsch, then there probably would have been more of a positive outlook on the whole thing.
Either way, they have probably come to a reliable appointment that should increase their chances of staying up.
There will be plenty of bumps in the road, but if they can win their home games and get that Elland Road crowd pumping again, then they should stay up, although, they might have to go to the final day again.
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