Leeds United v Southampton: Huge managerial update as new boss awaits press conference

New Whites head coach Javi Gracia is still awaiting a work permit ahead of Saturday afternoon’s showdown which is raising question marks about who will call the shots from the sidelines for the relegation-battle six pointer against the Saints.

Like Leeds, bottom of the table Southampton had also been without a manager of late following the sacking of Nathan Jones but the Saints have now announced that first team lead coach Ruben Selles has been appointed as first team manager until the end of the 2022-23 season.

Southampton sacked Jones as head coach after just 14 games in charge as a 2-1 defeat at home to Wolves which left the side bottom of the Premier League proved the final straw. Selles took caretaker charge as the Saints then looked to recently-sacked former Whites boss Jesse Marsch as Jones’ replacement.

But talks with the American broke down which led to Selles taking Southampton into last weekend’s clash at Chelsea in which a James Ward-Prowse free-kick gave the Saints a 1-0 success. The victory took the bottom-placed Saints within one point of second-bottom Leeds ahead of Saturday’s relegation-scrap six pointer at Elland Road.

Selles, 39, is holding his pre-match press conference at 1pm on Friday afternoon. Leeds are holding their pre-match press conference at 12.45pm but it remains to be seen who takes the questions.