Javi Gracia shares honest admission about Victor Orta exit at Leeds United
Former Leeds United boss Javi Gracia has admitted Victor Orta was a pleasure to be around but his exit at Elland Road has proven difficult for him to take.
The Whites confirmed Orta’s departure on Tuesday 2 May, with manager Gracia following the sporting director out of West Yorkshire after a dreadful run of results in the Premier League.
The Athletic journalist Phil Hay [3 May] revealed there was some behind-the-scenes tension at Elland Road which ultimately led to Orta’s departure.
But, in an exclusive interview with The Athletic [4 May] after his sacking, the former Watford coach had nothing but kind words to say about his fellow countryman.
"I can honestly say my time at Leeds has been an enriching experience, and the human qualities of Victor Orta have been an authentic pleasure to be around. It was one of the places in my career where they have made me feel good and comfortable in myself.
"Personally I did not know Victor very well before taking the job. I had never spent time with him previously. It’s been a very intense period. It hurt me a lot to lose my job, but I have to say Victor’s exit is just as difficult for me, if not more.”
Admirable
It's certainly admirable for Gracia to come out and give an interview so soon after his sacking at Elland Road when he would have been forgiven for letting things stew over for a while before speaking out on what went wrong.
It's safe to say that the Spaniard was terribly unfortunate at how things panned out at Leeds United given it seemed for a period that Orta and the Whites board had made a very good decision to place him as Jesse Marsch's successor back in February.
It will certainly leave a bitter taste in Gracia's mouth, but how his side spiralled out of control was indeed baffling with no one to blame but himself and Orta who followed him out the exit door, after the former sporting director disagreed with calls for his fellow countryman to be sacked.
Of course, Gracia will back him in the aftermath seeing as he had so much backing and belief from Orta even after things ended so badly throughout the latter stages of his tenure.
Hopefully, this unfortunate saga won't cost Leeds United their Premier League status for next season and the new man at the helm Sam Allardyce certainly has a big job on his hands turning things around with so little time of the season left.
In other Leeds United news, other senior figures are now in line to be fired along with the manager after “emergency” talks.