Simon Jordan and Jim White react instantly to Leeds United manager news amid Javi Gracia agreement
Simon Jordan and Jim White have praised Leeds United for a “sensible” appointment as they close in on hiring Javi Gracia as their new manager.
The Whites have moved quickly to bring in former Watford boss Gracia to Elland Road until the end of the season after dropping into the relegation zone following defeat to Everton (18 February).
And reacting to the reports live on talkSPORT (21 February, 10:09), Jordan and White were in agreement that the appointment was probably a good one for the short-term aspirations of getting safety.
“I have to say I thought he was a little bit unlucky to have lost his job at Watford,” Jordan said. “Obviously they got smashed to pieces in the FA Cup final, we all know that, but that can happen with Manchester City.
“I remember watching his Malaga team years ago, when I was living in Marbella, between 2014-17 and they were not a bad side.
“I actually think, given the circumstances they find themselves in, which is a lucky dip right now, they don’t know where they’re going. But this is not an unsensible sort of outlook in terms of a short-term fix.
“Get the players focused in the right way, someone who is quite sensible in his management, and you might just be able to get a tune out of this Leeds players for the last 15 games of the season or whatever they’ve got left.”
“I’d agree with that,” White said. “I’d agree with that, Simon. If it’s short-term I think it’s a sensible option.”
Needs must
Leeds need an experience head in the dugout to navigate the upcoming fixtures, that much is clear, and it’s no slight on Michael Skubala.
The young coach was thrown into the deep end of the job with little to no time for preparation and it hasn’t gone well results wise, despite decent performances in the two games against Manchester United.
But with only 15 games remaining this season, the club had no option but to find someone with experience at the highest level to get their feet under the desk and start working towards survival.
A short-term deal makes sense for everyone, because Gracia and Leeds won’t want to stick around should he fail to keep us in the Premier League, and he obviously wasn’t among the top choices for the job initially.
It buys everyone time to take a second look in the summer, but for now the priority has to be to keep Leeds in the Premier League for next season. Then we can discuss next year.
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