I left Leeds United & Tottenham for jobs in Greece, China and Chile - now I'm targeting a return to the UK

Former Leeds United assistant Gus Poyet is eyeing a return to the UK almost a decade after leaving Elland Road.

Poyet arrived at Leeds back in October 2006, following Dennis Wise from Swindon Town to become his assistant in LS11. But the Uruguayan endured a turbulent 13 months, with the Whites suffering administration, relegation to League One and two points deductions before he moved into the backroom team at Tottenham Hotspur.

Now 57-years-old, Poyet has enjoyed one of the more varied coaching careers, remaining in England as manager of Brighton and Sunderland before spells in Greece, Spain, China, France and Chile. The former midfielder most recently left his role as Greek national team boss in March and is eyeing a return to the UK.

“My aim is that one, to come back,” Poyet told The Sunderland Echo when asked if he would like to manage in England again. “It's been difficult. It's not easy. There is a big group of young coaches now. So I'm trying to make sure that I get in a place where I'm going to have a chance to do well, not jump in any opportunity.

“But those ones, they are not easy, you know, they don't come quite quickly. So you need to wait sometimes. But during that time, I'm open to managing anywhere in the world.”

Having previously played for Chelsea, Poyet reunited with Dennis Wise at Swindon Town before following him to Leeds. Wise was the third man in the Elland Road dugout after less than three months of the 2006/07 season, with Kevin Blackwell sacked the previous month and John Carver failing to make an impact in a caretaker role.

Subscribe to Inside Elland Road, with Graham Smyth for unique, behind-the-scenes Leeds United coverage, expert analysis and exclusive interviews

Wise and Poyet oversaw a miserable campaign in which Leeds fell into the Championship relegation zone in October and never managed to climb out, eventually suffering a first ever fall to League One. That unwanted record was confirmed at the start of May when the club entered administration, receiving an instant 10-point deduction.

The pair remained in charge during a summer in which it was uncertain whether Leeds would even make it to the start of the League One campaign. The Whites at risk of being kicked out of the EFL, but other member clubs voted for their league status to remain, subject to another 15-point deduction.

Despite a summer of chaos and that deduction, Leeds won their first seven games and were unbeaten in the 13 matches involving Poyet as assistant, with the Uruguayan widely credited for those performances. What is certain is his departure for Tottenham signalled a slight slump in results before Wise was sacked in January. Poyet still holds fond memories of his time in West Yorkshire, despite the surrounding chaos.

“I still meet Leeds United fans who ask me and want me to go back because it was a good, close relationship in a very, very difficult, unique situation,” he told Football League World earlier this year. “We were into administration, into League One and we started the season with -15 points.

“I hope it is the last time in my life where I win the first five league games and have 0 points. We went six or seven in a row. We started taking thousands and thousands away from home in League One. Impossible! There were wins in that run that were spectacular. Away at Nottingham Forest. There were moments that were incredible.”