George Overhill

Fri 10 February 2023 8:10, UK

Andrea Radrizzani didn’t let an angry message over his communication during the Leeds United managerial search slide as he told an online commenter to “relax man”.

Having sacked Jesse Marsch on Monday (6 February) in the wake of the 1-0 loss at Nottingham Forest a day earlier, the Italian had suggested Tuesday evening on Twitter that a replacement would be ready the same night or the following morning.

However, Carlos Corberan signed a new West Brom contract within hours to rule him out of the race, prompting Radrizzani to respond to a question about his previous timeframe having passed by saying “more time” was needed.

But after Rayo Vallecano blocked Andoni Iraola’s exit on Thursday [Sky Sports, 9 February] the majority shareholder started catching some abuse.

On the same Twitter thread where he had previously posted the Whites chairman was told to keep his mouth shut after his earlier updates didn’t lead anywhere.

Radrizzani quickly responded, posting: “Relax man, enjoy your freedom”, along with emojis of a clap and a thumbs up.

Faltering

Clearly this process hasn’t gone to plan, and Radrizzani should probably have learned from the Bamba Dieng affair not to jump the gun on social media, but he is unlikely to do anything differently based on feedback there.

Losing out on Corberan and Iraola has put both the Italian and his sporting director Victor Orta onto looking at candidates who were not their favourites.

Whoever comes in now would be a consolation, and raises the possibility of an interim appointment until the summer, with the small matter of Premier League survival hanging in the balance in the mean time.

Those stakes of course make it vital that the wrong person isn’t put in charge now, although a quick decision would certainly be beneficial.

Although Michael Skubala got a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford on Wednesday night (8 February), the man himself made clear that he wasn’t expecting to be in the running for the job longer-term prior to the game.

After Manchester United play the return fixture at Elland Road on Sunday (12 February) there are two crucial games against teams at the bottom of the table in Everton and Southampton, which could go a long way to determining the direction of the relegation battle.

If the right option for the long-term isn’t available by next week then it would make sense to install an experienced firefighter for the next four months and revisit in the summer, because chances can’t be taken at this point.

In other Leeds United news, click here to see breaking, around-the-clock updates on Leeds’ search for a new manager in our interactive live blog.