LEEDS AXE FALLS AGAIN
LeeDS uNITeD sacked head coach Thomas Christiansen last night after just eight months in charge.
The elland Road side lost 4-1 at home to Cardiff on Saturday, extending a run that has seen the promotion hopefuls fail to win since Boxing Day. They dropped to 10th after the defeat.
During that sequence, they have also been embarrassingly eliminated from the FA Cup in the third round by League Two Newport County.
Leeds expect to make a quick appointment, possibly in the next few days.
Reading manager Jaap Stam is likely to be in the frame. Leeds were keen to appoint him in the summer and Stam is expected to leave the Madjeski Stadium at the start of next week, having struggled to repeat last season’s success, when Reading finished third. The Royals are 18th in the Championship.
Stam would be a contentious appointment for many Leeds fans because of his connection to arch-rivals Manchester united.
Former Leeds boss Simon Grayson is interested in returning to the club. The former Sunderland and Preston manager, who came through the club’s academy as a player, was in charge at elland Road between 2008 and 2012, securing promotion from League One.
No manager has bettered Grayson’s seventh-place finish in the Championship from the 2010-11 campaign since he left the club.
Former england, Derby and Newcastle manager Steve McClaren was in the Leeds directors’ box on Saturday in the row behind director of football Victor Orta. His most recent job was as a coaching consultant at Maccabi Tel Aviv.
Leeds, who were taken over by Italian Andrea Radrizzani in the summer, were clear that a place in the play-offs was the minimum expectation for the campaign when Christiansen, 44, arrived.
The Danish-born former Spain international was a surprise choice for Leeds when he was appointed to replace Garry Monk in the summer, despite leading APOeL to the Cypriot title last season and a place in the last 32 of the europa League.
Christiansen and his side started brightly, despite losing last season’s top scorer Chris Wood to Burnley after three league games. He led Leeds to an impressive start and they topped the table after eight games.
But an abysmal run of seven losses in nine games saw them drop off the pace. Leeds recovered, climbing back into the top six, until their alarming recent run.
Leeds have also shown a staggering level of ill- discipline during that spell. They have had a player sent off in four of their last five matches, including Gaetano Berardi against Cardiff.
The run of seven games without a victory has left them seven points off sixth place with 16 games left of the campaign.
The sacking means Leeds are looking for their eighth manager in the last four seasons.