Report: Leeds to decide on Paul Heckingbottom’s future this week

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Leeds United are reportedly set to make a decision on Paul Heckingbottom’s future in the coming days.

According to a report from The Sun on Sunday (27/05; page 65), Leeds are seemingly expecting to make a decision on Paul Heckingbottom’s future at Elland Road this week with the 40-year-old seemingly under pressure to keep his job with the Whites.

Heckingbottom only arrived at Leeds in February, with chairman Andrea Radrizzani wasting virtually no time to make an appointment in the wake of Thomas Christiansen’s departure.

Unfortunately for the former Barnsley boss, life at Leeds has not been easy with the Whites finishing the campaign with just four wins under their new head coach. The bottom-half finish was undoubtedly a major disappointment given that Leeds were setting the early pace and remained right in the play-off mix around the turn of the year.

Heckingbottom certainly cannot take anything like all of the blame for their poor form, but The Sun on Sunday (27/05; page 65) hints that he may not be in the dugout for the opening game of next season as their report suggests that a decision on his future is set to be made in the coming days.

Given his previous experience, Heckingbottom’s appointment was met with plenty of scepticism amongst the Leeds fans and it seems fair to suggest that the share of the supporters who do not believe that the Englishman can take the side forward has grown with almost every result.

In fairness to Heckingbottom, he did a superb job with Barnsley. They were ultimately relegated this past season following his exit, but he had seen a ridiculous number of key players depart Oakwell during his tenure, with the Tykes arguably reaching their ceiling without serious investment.

He has not enjoyed the best start at Leeds, but he has had no say on the players within his squad and the disappointing end to the campaign was already on the cards before his arrival, with Christiansen losing five of his last seven games in charge. Admittedly, some of the decisions that he has made along the way have still been baffling.

It would be a ruthless call from Radrizzani not to give Heckingbottom the summer to make some of the changes that he wants to implement – though it would also be a popular decision with a large section of the fans if he goes, it seems. Given the club’s recruitment over the last year however, Heckingbottom’s situation is arguably not the future that Radrizzani should consider in the coming days.