Photo: Paul Heckingbottom holds first Leeds United team meeting

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Leeds United appointed Paul Heckingbottom as their new manager this morning.

Less than 48 hours on from Thomas Christiansen’s sacking, Leeds United have landed their new manager having appointed Paul Heckingbottom this morning.

The Whites sacked Christiansen on Sunday evening after a 4-1 home defeat at the hands of Cardiff City, bringing an end to his eight-month stint at Elland Road.

Leeds intended to make a swift appointment to replace the Spaniard, and they pulled that off this morning by confirming the arrival of Barnsley boss Paul Heckingbottom.

The 40-year-old has impressed on a budget at Oakwell, and now heads to Elland Road to take the reins on an 18-month contract as he looks to further his coaching career.

Heckingbottom got straight down to work today, and Leeds United’s official Twitter account posted a photo this afternoon of Heckingbottom holding his first meeting with the Leeds squad, introducing himself to the players.

Heckingbottom will have only gone through the basics today, but with a crucial Yorkshire derby against Sheffield United coming up this weekend, he will be looking to make an instant impression – and here are three priorities for the new Leeds boss…

1. Solve disciplinary problems – Leeds have now had four red cards in the last five games and seven for the season, with repeated disciplinary issues really holding the Whites back. Consistently giving themselves a mountain to climb isn’t helping Leeds, and Heckingbottom will be looking for a way to stop that trend quickly.

2. Make Elland Road a fortress again – Leeds are without a home win in over a month now, and the likes of Reading, Sheffield United, Derby, Millwall and Cardiff have all left West Yorkshire with maximum points this season. The pressure of playing at such a big, historic and expectation-filled stadium like Elland Road can get to some players, and Heckingbottom will be looking to push for strong home form early into his reign.

3. Form opinions on Lasogga and Pennington – Leeds have two loanees in the squad right now, in Everton’s Matthew Pennington and Hamburg’s Pierre-Michel Lasogga, and Heckingbottom will be looking to analyse the pair ahead of the summer, when Leeds can chase permanent deals. The subjects split fans right now after respective fitness and form issues this season, but Heckingbottom will now look to see them up close before deciding whether to pursue full-time moves.