Gary McSheffrey voices regret over Leeds United loan spell despite League One promotion

The former winger says he regrets making the move to Leeds United in 2010
Former Leeds United loanee Gary McSheffrey. (Image: James Hardisty)Former Leeds United loanee Gary McSheffrey. (Image: James Hardisty)
Former Leeds United loanee Gary McSheffrey. (Image: James Hardisty)

Gary McSheffrey has voiced his regret over a loan move to Leeds United a decade ago, admitting he was sucked it by the stature of the League One club.

The forward joined the Whites in January 2010 from Premier League outfit Birmingham City in a bid to see more match action with his contract at St Andrew's running down.

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McSheffrey opted to drop down two divisions despite strong interest in the Championship due to United being top of League One with a view to earning himself a permanent deal at Elland Road.

Despite a strong start to his loan spell, McSheffrey failed to make a lasting impact as he made 11 appearances - scoring just once - with Simon Grayson's side earning promotion back to the second tier with a dramatic win over Bristol Rovers at the end of the campaign.

The now 37-year-old has voiced regret over the loan move which failed to land him a longer deal, believing in hindsight he should never have left the Blues at all.

“I went on loan to League One because Leeds were top of the table," he told the Birmingham Mail.

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“Looking back you wouldn’t see that nowadays, I kind of just wanted to play and they were going all out for me.

“Despite being in League One they were contributing to the salary and wanted a loan. I think I should have just stayed at Birmingham, it wasn’t a good time for me personally to go there.

“But I did, I wanted to play and be in a position in the summer where I had options having had a good loan.

“After eight or nine games I got injured for two over a bank holiday weekend and sat on the bench for the last eight as the lads did great and ended up getting promoted.

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“In the summer then I went back to Cov but if I had my time again I wouldn’t have gone anywhere, I would have sat on the bench in the Prem, got my appearances here and there and been in a better position in the summer to have more options.

“I got sucked into Elland Road, Leeds United, huge club – it was good but I am going there and I had not played League One since a loan at Luton Town as a 19-year-old.

“It was quite hard to adapt to League One to be honest - having played Champ all my career and a season in the Prem.

“For whatever reason I didn’t adapt to the level and didn’t play as well as I should have.

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"They were expecting me to hit the ground running and come in and absolutely smash up the division – but I hadn’t really been playing regular, consistent performances for quite a while.

“It was hard to get any flow going.

“I needed a run of games to get match fit and probably wasn’t ready for that type of move at that point.

“It is a regret because it is a great club and I would have loved to have had a longer time there but ultimately I didn’t play well enough to secure a longer deal.”