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Leeds United manager news: Steven Gerrard allies confident former Rangers and Aston Villa boss will get job - Phil Hay
There is confidence among those close to Steven Gerrard that he is in position to be offered the Leeds United job, according to Phil Hay.
The former Rangers and Aston Villa manager was linked to the Elland Road job when the Whites dispensed with the services of their first manager of the season, Jesse Marsch, in February and he has emerged as a genuine candidate now they’ve seen their fourth depart.
Sam Allardyce left by mutual consent last week (2 June), but had invited former Whites midfielder, and Gerrard’s assistant at both Ibrox and Villa Park, Gary McAllister, to Thorp Arch to speak to the players prior to the last game of the season, and with Angus Kinnear having reached out to candidates’ to gauge interest already there appears to be a growing belief that the Liverpool legend will be the man.
Hay reports in The Athletic: “Steven Gerrard ran into trouble as manager of Aston Villa, but he won a Scottish Premiership title with Rangers and some close to him believe he has a strong chance of landing the job at Elland Road.
“Gerrard’s assistant, former Leeds midfielder Gary McAllister, was invited to the club’s training ground by Allardyce in the last week of the season to give the squad a pep talk ahead of their final match against Tottenham.”
Gamble
If the 43-year-old is set to be the man to lead the club into the new 49ers era then the Whites will have to hope it is very much the Rangers vintage rather than the Villa one that arrives.
His achievements in Glasgow were impressive, especially for a first senior management role, but doubt has been expressed in the months since as to how much of that was down to current Ibrox boss Michael Beale as his assistant.
The ex-England captain’s time at Villa Park was just as equally unimpressive, as he didn’t last a year and left with the club heading for a relegation battle, and McAllister’s role as assistant wasn’t much better according to former Villa forward Gabby Agbonlahor [via Twitter, 20 October].
Leeds United fans might not care much for the talkSPORT pundit’s views on the Whites much but he should know what he is talking about when it comes to the club he spent his entire career at.
And McAllister’s appearance at Thorp Arch clearly didn’t have the desired effect as the Whites conceded immediately in the crucial 4-1 defeat on the final day (28 May).
Whatever the relative merits of the Championship and the SPFL, they are different leagues, and when the two other prime candidates mentioned in Hay’s report are Scott Parker and Carlos Corberan, both of whom have strong experience of the English second tier, it is hard to escape the view that Gerrard would be the riskiest of the three.
The managerial appointment is the priority once the 49ers deal is sealed so a resolution should be forthcoming on that front imminently.
In other Leeds United news, a very popular Elland Road transfer is on the cards this summer as Fabrizio Romano reports multiple clubs interested.