Javi Gracia open to short-term deal amid Leeds United manager talks
Javi Gracia is open to signing a short-term deal to take over at Leeds United as the club scramble to avoid relegation, the Daily Mail reports.
The Spanish coach has emerged as a “contender” with the club after the 1-0 defeat at Everton on Saturday (18 February) threw the board’s previous plan to carry on with caretaker Michael Skubala into turmoil.
The former Watford boss, in contrast to numerous previous options, is both available and apparently prepared to accept a deal until the summer, with the the board now keenly aware of the growing relegation threat.
According to the Daily Mail: “Javi Gracia has emerged as a contender to take over at Leeds United until the end of the season.
“The former Watford manager is free after leaving Qatari club Al-Sadd and is understood to be willing to accept a short term contract.
“Leeds had been willing to leave Michael Skubala in interim charge after failing to find their preferred candidate to replace Jesse Marsch.
“However, Saturday’s performance and 1-0 defeat to Everton triggered further talks among the worried club hierarchy who are fearful the threat of relegation has become a very real prospect.”
Desperation
After swinging and missing on so many options it appears the board have finally found a manager who is ready and willing to take over at such an awkward point in the season.
That in itself is almost cause for celebration given how disastrously the Jesse Marsch succession plan has gone, but Gracia is clearly far from first choice.
He is out of work currently and having been through 12 senior management jobs in 15 years he clearly isn’t worried about not hanging around for long.
The 52-year-old has been to the FA Cup final with Watford, won a Qatari league title, and crucially isn’t an under-21s coach chucked in at the deep end, so perhaps he can be the man to rescue this season.
It should not be news that relegation is a genuine danger, and having mismanaged the succession from Marsch this badly the board has surely made it more likely.
Gracia, if he is to take the rest of the campaign, is nothing other than an emergency option which seems a fairly thankless position for him, but if he can get in and get to work quickly he would have a chance to save the board from a self-inflicted catastrophe.
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