Heckingbottom got Leeds United job '˜too early' says former goalkeeper Nigel Martyn

FORMER Leeds United goalkeeper Nigel Martyn believes the club were right to go for a change of head coach this summer, saying the job at Elland Road came 'a bit early' for Paul Heckingbottom.
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Martyn insisted Heckingbottom, who Leeds sacked on Friday after just 16 games in charge, would recover from the blow of his swift dismissal but said a more experienced option was required when United chose him as first-team boss in February.

Leeds recruited Heckingbottom from Barnsley within 48 hours of sacking Thomas Christiansen, paying £500,000 to activate a release clause in his contract at Oakwell. Heckingbottom, however, lasted for just four months before United dismissed him last week with a year left on his contract.

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The club are now working on a deal for Argentine Marcelo Bielsa, a coach with a vast track record in comparison to Heckingbottom. Heckingbottom had been in first-team management for just two years before Leeds gambled on his potential.

Martyn told the YEP: “I knew Paul at Bradford City when I was doing a bit of coaching there. You could tell he would be management material just by speaking to him.

“But at the time when Leeds went for him, it didn’t look like the right fit. Leeds should have been looking for a more experienced manager and in Paul’s case he probably needed a few more years before getting a job of that size. Perhaps it was a bit early for him.

“When he came, a change had to be made so in some respects you could say it was slightly forced upon everyone. The club have grasped the nettle again and let him go, and hopefully he gets himself back into management pretty soon. But I can see why they’re going in a different direction.”

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Bielsa – a hugely-respected if volatile coach – began his managerial career with Newell’s Old Boys in Argentina almost 20 years ago and has earned much acclaim for his approach to football and his attacking philosophy.

Nigel MartynNigel Martyn
Nigel Martyn

The 62-year-old, who is locked in talks with Leeds over a deal to take charge, would be handed a squad who finished 13th in the Championship and Martyn said the addition of new players would be the crucial factor for United’s next boss.

“They’d be going for someone who doesn’t know the league too well but who has a big reputation and a huge amount experience,” said Martyn, speaking at the launch of GOALS’ Football Revolution campaign at GOALS Leeds.

“He’s got his background and he’s got his reputation and you can’t help but respect all of that. So for him it would come down to recruitment.

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“It’s a case of which players he can get and at what price. Where the team finished last season says the squad isn’t good enough to get promotion.

Paul HeckingbottomPaul Heckingbottom
Paul Heckingbottom

“Financially, Leeds don’t have the biggest budget but he’d need more than they’ve got at present.

“It’s positive to see the club going for someone high-profile. David Moyes, to me having worked with him (at Everton), is someone who would be a really safe pair of hands and, I think, would produce a team good enough to go up given time. This (Bielsa) is a different way of thinking, more left-field. But it’s got the potential to work.”

GOALS’ Football Revolution campaign aims to get more people active this summer through playing five-a-side football during the World Cup and beyond: www.goalsfootball.co.uk