Hernandez keen complete the job and take Leeds United back to Premier League

United playmaker Pablo Hernandez's contract was not just about finance. He wanted a project he could believe in '“ namely a concerted push to get Leeds back into the Premier League. Phil Hay reports.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

On all sides they agree that Pablo Hernandez’s contract talks were never about money. There was a request on his part for some meaningful security but Hernandez showed more interest in “the project”: what Leeds United had planned for him and what Leeds United had planned for themselves.

The midfielder, who signed a new two-year contract yesterday, is at a delicate time of life. He reached his 33rd birthday this month and in the next week or so, his wife is due to give birth to their second child.

Pablo HernandezPablo Hernandez
Pablo Hernandez
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

There were offers on the table for him to go back to Spain, for the first time on a permanent basis in six years, but Hernandez wanted Leeds to sell him a vision. This, for him, is unfinished business.

“I hope to go to the Premier League with this team before I leave the club,” he said.

There is no chance of that this season and losing Hernandez at the end of a contract which Leeds had allowed to run down would have been a crowning kick in the teeth at the end of a bad year.

Leeds made nothing of it but Hernandez’s second season at Elland Road has, conversely, been the better of the two: more goals, more assists, more appearances and fewer injuries. He held himself together while all around him were losing their heads.

Pablo Hernandez. Leeds United v Bolton Wanderers.  SkyBet Championship.  Elland Road. 30 March 2018.  Picture Bruce RollinsonPablo Hernandez. Leeds United v Bolton Wanderers.  SkyBet Championship.  Elland Road. 30 March 2018.  Picture Bruce Rollinson
Pablo Hernandez. Leeds United v Bolton Wanderers. SkyBet Championship. Elland Road. 30 March 2018. Picture Bruce Rollinson
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

That, in Hernandez, is something Paul Heckingbottom values. He has the dead-ball deliveries, the deft finishes and the in-built urge to play forward but as the oldest outfield footballer at Leeds, he also has sobriety and poise. None of this season’s scrapes have been Hernandez’s fault. None of the disciplinary issues were down to him. Leeds have a role model in the Spaniard, even if they have been more grateful for the class in his left foot.

“My feeling this season has been good,” he said. “It’s been better for me than last season because I’ve played more games and I’ve had better performances. I haven’t had a lot of injuries or important injuries.

“But when the team don’t win games and can’t fight for the play-offs, or go direct to the Premier League, it’s not complete. It’s been a difficult season. After seven or eight games we were top of the league and we created a lot of expectation but in the Championship it’s not good to create expectation too early. What’s important now is to learn from the mistakes all-round.”

Hernandez’s new deal is a promise of two more seasons at Elland Road with the guarantee of an further extension if Leeds are promoted in that window. The deal will keep him at United until 2020 and the age of 35, if not beyond.

Pablo HernandezPablo Hernandez
Pablo Hernandez
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Leeds were slow in engaging Hernandez in discussions, allowing his existing 12-month agreement to tick by until Heckingbottom informed the board in March that he wanted Hernandez to be part of his squad next season. The agreement of new terms has averted the potential embarrassment of Hernandez leaving in the aftermath of winning the club’s player-of-the-year award.

Hernandez said he had wanted to be sure about how Leeds intended to move forward and how heavily involved he would be. There is a general view that he lacks the physique to fight out a full Championship season but Hernandez has played 42 times since August. He has been Heckingbottom’s most influential player since United’s head coach took charge in February.

“This year I’ve played 42 games and my fitness is very good,” Hernandez said. “Obviously when you arrive at 32, 33, you need to work more. You need to train longer on the pitch and in the gym. You need good food and we work with a nutritionist. All these things help me and my feeling is good. I hope next year is the same.”

Heckingbottom was in no doubt that Hernandez would contribute in the Championship next season. “He can be part of the team and a big part of the team,” United’s boss said. “I don’t think we’d ever want to build a team around a player but Pablo’s shown he’s a team player. He’s show he can change games.

Pablo Hernandez. Leeds United v Bolton Wanderers.  SkyBet Championship.  Elland Road. 30 March 2018.  Picture Bruce RollinsonPablo Hernandez. Leeds United v Bolton Wanderers.  SkyBet Championship.  Elland Road. 30 March 2018.  Picture Bruce Rollinson
Pablo Hernandez. Leeds United v Bolton Wanderers. SkyBet Championship. Elland Road. 30 March 2018. Picture Bruce Rollinson
Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“Lot of teams wanted him and he would have been a great asset to anyone but Pablo wants to be part of something. It’s not a player after money or anything other than something he enjoys.”

Hernandez said he was hopeful that the difficulties of this season would be addressed by Leeds during the close season. From a seventh-placed finish in his first year with United, the club have bombed into mid-table, ruled out of the play-offs many weeks ago.

“It (his new contract) was not only about the money or one or two years more but about the project and the idea the club has for the next years,” Hernandez said. “It was important to me what the club said they wanted in the future: that I’m an important player for the club and I can help the young players. I like this role.

“We need to learn from our mistakes and we need to improve a lot for the next year. We know this. All the people need to work with passion. When you don’t play for any target maybe you lose a little bit and that’s normal. But I think we have a good project in front is us.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Heckingbottom, despite speculation about his future, looks increasingly likely to retain his job when this season ends. Discussions with owner Andrea Radrizzani in the past week appear to have shored up his position. Hernandez, like several other players before him, complimented Heckingbottom’s tactics and coaching, saying they had a “similar ethos”. “I don’t know the future but I am very happy in this moment with him,” the Spaniard said.

Hernandez’s latest contract might be his last chance to play again in the Premier League with Leeds or with anyone else. He was there for two seasons with Swansea City but is four years on from his last top-flight appearance.

“I hope to go to the Premier League with this team before I leave the club,” he said. “I believe in these players and I believe in this club. The club have shown me they have confidence in me.

“I had a chance to go back to Spain but for me this club is so special. I want to celebrate something with this club. And I’m sure that in these next two years we’ll have something to celebrate.”