Leeds United and Javi Gracia await international clearance before permanent appointment as new manager
Leeds United and Javi Gracia are just awaiting international clearance before making his appointment as the new manager official.
The Whites initially handed the temporary role to Michael Skubala for "upcoming fixtures", which was expected to be against Everton and Southampton, but defeat to the Toffees has left them in 19th place and on the cusp of relegation.
That has fired the hierarchy into action, and former Watford boss Gracia is set to be appointed until the end of the season (Phil Hay, 21 February) so long as he is given international clearance according to a new report (21 February).
"Javi Gracia will sign for Leeds if nothing goes wrong," they wrote on their official Twitter account.
"Coach and club already have an agreement. It remains for the international panel to allow him to train in England.
"Both parties trust there is no impediment."
Boom
The defeat to Everton was enough to get fans really worried, and clearly the fans were heard as the board sprung into action to get someone in within 48 hours.
Gracia has experience of the Premier League, having kept Watford up previously and also got them to an FA Cup final, and that shows he has the quality to keep us up.
He hasn't got a lot of time to do things with only 15 games remaining this season, but with a manager with experience and a more pragmatic style of play there should be confidence of getting results now considering the quality in the squad.
A deal until the end of the season allows the board to be open about a new boss in the summer again, should he fail to impress or the club want to go in another direction.
It makes plenty of sense to do this deal and while the football may not be as exciting as it has been in recent years, I think the vast majority of fans would take survival over style at this point in the campaign.
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