Leeds United: Whites hunt for a boss has become farcical '“ Whelan

Steve Evans.Steve Evans.
Steve Evans.
YOU have got to feel a little bit for Steve Evans at the moment.

With what’s going on and the way they are going about their search for a new manager – not firing him, not speaking to him, it’s very disrespectful to Steve Evans, or any manager in that position.

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It’s not the way you should go about your job and it’s not professional.

I don’t like to see any manager lose their job but when someone is still in a job and you are interviewing other managers for that position when he hasn’t been sacked, that just becomes farcical.

The fact that Steve is still here is saying that he wants to be at the club and he wants to manage Leeds United next season.

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Many managers would have walked, I’m sure. But like Steve said at the end of the season, he fell in love with the club and I think that’s what Leeds United does to you so why would you want to walk away from the job?

But it’s going to be very difficult to have a relationship with a chairman that obviously doesn’t seem to want you at the club because he is looking elsewhere. And he is looking at managers that I don’t think are any better than Steve Evans.

The fact that Steve is now even money favourite to keep his own job shows just how ridiculous this situation is.

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Could he still stay? There’s always ways of making it work but for how long? That’s the problem.

The fact that Cellino is looking for other managers while he is still the manager shows that he hasn’t got great faith in Steve to get them promoted next season.

He wants somebody else to do that but you have had two other managers that have turned the job down.

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You are turning Leeds United down when you are manager of Bristol Rovers and manager of MK Dons.

And no disrespect to those two sides but generally and usually when somebody gets that opportunity, you jump at it.

That says to me that these managers at other clubs are happier staying where they are because they don’t like the way the club is run.

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That tells you that they think the job is more safe at MK Dons and Bristol Rovers and the ship is sailing more smoothly than it is at Leeds – and rightly so.

Everyone can see that this is not the way you run a club.

It seems like nobody wants the job and that’s the stumbling block. Generally, you go to a club, the chairman brings you in and then allows you to get on with your job.

This isn’t the case at Leeds United – you are not allowed to get on with your job, there is too much interference and as a manager that’s the first thing you think about.

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If you want to fail at your job you want to fail because you have not done things right your way – not because you are not doing it right the chairman’s way.

You can’t tell me that Bristol Rovers boss Darrell Clarke has got more experience then Steve because he hasn’t.

Steve has been working at clubs in higher divisions whereas Darrell is relatively new to the game as a manager. No disrespect to him but he has been working with League Two players. It’s a bit strange and, for me, I wouldn’t be looking elsewhere. If I couldn’t get the one I really wanted then I would stay with Steve. You only change your manager if you can get better. You don’t change your manager for the sake of changing a manager. You have got to change a manager knowing that you are getting something a little bit better and a little bit more special.

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In the case of Karl Robinson, I think he is an excellent manager. He’s done a great job at MK Dons, he has been there a long, long time but he has been allowed to get on with his job.

He’s been allowed to get rid of players he doesn’t want and bring in players that he does want.

Would he have been given that freedom at Leeds? I very much doubt it.

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Being turned down by the managers of MK Dons and Bristol Rovers is a bit embarrassing.

But it’s not about Leeds United as Leeds United and it’s not about the fans because you know you have got the best fans in the country that will travel far and wide to support the club.

It’s not about the players that you are going to inherit because you have got some fantastic players there and hopefully with new additions as well you have got a very good chance of having a strong squad that is going to compete.

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But it’s about what is happening upstairs in the boardroom. It’s about what you are going to have to work with and that’s the disappointing thing for me. Cellino could be a very good chairman but you have got to take a step back and you can’t boss everything.

It just seems to me that he wants to run everything his way and that can’t happen.

You have got to trust people and that’s what he obviously struggles to do. He wants everything his way but unfortunately that’s not right.

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These people in Italy that have been linked with the job like Ivan Juric – what do they know about the Championship? Absolutely nothing.

It’s a completely different ball game in England, in the Championship, and that’s not going to bring anything to Leeds United. Does he even speak English?

Does he understand the players properly and does he understand what sort of character you need in your changing room?

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I’m very worried. I don’t think we will go down next year but I just feel like we are going to have another non-existent season if we don’t start getting things right between now and the start of the season.