Ex-Leeds United favourite reveals Whites manager job interest and expectation with Daniel Farke

Had they looked for something a little different of late, a former Whites favourite perhaps, ex-Leeds assistant manager Gus Poyet wonders if it might have been him. Now 55 and the manager of the Greece national team, Poyet insists he never actually "applied" to be the club's next manager but certainly put the feelers out.

Yet in new boss Daniel Farke, Poyet is sitting happy believing Leeds have ultimately employed the right man to take his former club which he still has lots of love for back to the promised land.

Sixteen years have passed since Poyet ended just over one year at Elland Road as Dennis Wise's assistant to become first team coach under boss Juande Ramos at Tottenham Hotspur. Poyet, who left with Leeds in League One, sometimes thinks what life would have been like had he stayed a little longer.

Yet the move offered an instant jump to the Premier League and another early chapter in a managerial career that has since featured spells in outright charge of Brighton, Sunderland, AEK Athens, Real Betis, Shanghai Shenhua, Bordeaux, Universidad Católica and now Greece.

Upon leaving the English game to take over at AEK in 2015, Poyet always planned to come back. Eight years later, he hasn't. But that hasn't stopped Poyet from looking, including enquiring about an Elland Road return shortly before the club eventually looked to Marcelo Bielsa and also amid the turmoil of last season, from which Poyet thinks Leeds have now found just the man to help them bounce back.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Yorkshire Evening Post in association with Fruityslots.com, Poyet said of Leeds: "I tried to get in contact probably before Bielsa so we are talking about a few years back. Now, and at the end of the season, I'm very realistic.

“So when they finished last season and went down I thought ‘okay, I think I got half have a chance in there, I have got a very good relationship with the fans, I know the Championship very well, I try to play the football that everybody knows in England.’

"But I'm also realistic when they get a coach that I think is the right one and I think Farke is the right one. He won the Championship twice so it makes sense if you know what I mean. If Leeds went for an inexperienced manager or foreigner coming to England from nowhere, that would hurt a little bit.

"But when they named Farke I was I was pleased for Leeds United Football Club because I think he has got the experience and the pedigree. He won the Championship twice so it's a manager that makes sense for him to be at Leeds right now."

Asked if he had actually ever applied, Poyet explained: "'With my agent we tried to get in contact with them to know what they are looking for. It's important for me not to just apply for a job - just apply, apply, apply, apply, apply. No.

"It's to find out what they want, what are you looking for because sometimes they will say we want a young and upcoming coach - 40 years old. Okay, I'm old, I'm 55.

"Or they say we want someone who like you used to say maybe 20 years ago and I'm not talking about Leeds now but any job where they say we want an experienced one who normally fights relegation. Okay, fair enough, no. That kind of thing.

"Now, if they say more or less what you think you are, then you say ‘okay, I'm very very interested in that, take me into consideration, it's up to you obviously.’ And this was I think common sense for me to try to get in contact with them to let them decide.

"So when this kind of nomination (of Farke) comes after my approach, or my application, I accept it naturally because I think it's right. I hate when they say to you we want this type of manager personality or nice to play football and then they name someone who is completely the opposite and you go what is happening!"

Perhaps Poyet will be one for another day. But right now the Uruguayan is focused on his job with the Greece national side and aiming for qualification for Euro 2024. By then, the ex Whites assistant is optimistic that Leeds will be back in the Premier League given the credentials of Farke.

"I think they have got a strong squad," said Poyet. "Are they going to lose a few more players? Probably. There's plenty of rumours. I think they are candidates to go up. “Obviously they need to get like we always say strong at home and it's an absolutely beautiful place to play when you're winning. It's great for the players. So if they start well, I think they're going to be one of the big boys. I have got no doubt."

A beautiful place and for Poyet still beautiful memories and a Leeds legacy that lives on in more ways than one despite having initially joined the Whites from bitter London rivals Chelsea. Poyet smiled: "I know when you are a Chelsea fan everybody thinks that you need to hate everybody but Leeds was great with me and I always look at the results. As a coincidence, my eldest son went to uni at Leeds. He got a degree at Leeds University so it's like everything goes towards Leeds. I always look at their results.

"Last year and the last few games, it was tough. It was tough to see Leeds somehow losing and losing and losing and losing and you see it coming. But I'm sure that everybody has learned from that because everybody was responsible. There were three different coaches. When you have three in one season something is not going very well."