Leeds United suggested to sack Javi Gracia, Simon Jordan reacts live on talkSPORT
TalkSPORT pundit Simon Jordan believes that Leeds United won’t get relegated under manager Javi Gracia and has quashed suggestions stating that the Spaniard should get sacked.
The Whites suffered yet another damaging defeat on Monday [17 April] at the hands of Liverpool in a 6-1 mauling at Elland Road, following their 5-1 defeat to Crystal Palace on 8 April, leaving the club just two points above the drop zone.
According to the Daily Express [18 April], Leeds United do not want the Spaniard in charge to bring them back to the top flight next season, should they get relegated.
And speaking live on talkSPORT [19 April], former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy suggested that Gracia should be sacked by Leeds after the loss v Liverpool, but Jordan disagreed and praised the Spaniard for the job he’s done so far.
He said: “Getting beat 5-1 by Palace and beaten 6-1 by Liverpool, you’re gonna have nothing but a toxic environment because who wants to see your team shipping six at home?
“But, in previous games, they’ve done the job against Nottingham Forest at Elland Road, they did the job that they were required to do against Wolverhampton Wanderers, and they got a decent point against Brighton.
“He actually hasn’t done a bad job, I actually quite like him as a manager, I think he did a decent job at Watford and was quite unlucky and in this instance, I think he talks a lot of sense and is quite stoic, he’s quite solid and I think he will have done a better job than Jesse Marsch and I don’t think Leeds United will get relegated.”
Deserves chance
The Palace and Liverpool defeat will have certainly been damaging to the club’s chance of survival, not just to how the table looks right now but more crucially, to their performance levels and confidence moving forward.
Gracia has a huge job on his hands now picking them up again for Saturday’s crucial encounter against Fulham at Craven Cottage, a difficult test especially after what’s occurred in recent weeks.
Defensively, Leeds United were shocking and those kinds of showings simply cannot happen again. Gracia will have made that known to his players and the ex-Watford man certainly deserves a chance to put his stamp on things at Elland Road for the long haul.
The Whites have picked up ten points from his nine games in charge so far which is quite decent considering the toxic nature and environment he was placed under when he was announced in February.
There will be more attractive names to take the job permanently at the end of the season, but given Gracia’s Premier League experience, he’s a name that the Leeds United board must take into consideration no matter what happens come to the end of May. If they do get relegated, there may not be a better candidate to drag them back up again.
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