Misfit who turned into ‘The Terminator’ and averted an air disaster

tried to stop the slide in the years after the club’s First Division title triumph in 1992.

But it appeared that the former Arsenal manager’s optimism was not shared by everyone at the club.

Molenaar added: “The board had been saying it was vital we tried to stay up – their main ambition was not to be relegated. But our chief scout, Ian McNeill, had revealed to me once that George had totally different ideas. He wanted to attack the top six.

“I thought to myself, ‘Do you know what you’re saying, George? If you have those ambitions we need a lot of new players’.

“I was astonished when that happened.”

Molenaar’s stay in west Yorkshire might have been longer, but he suffered an injury to his anterior cruciate ligament under a challenge from Nicolas Anelka during a game against Arsenal in December 1998. Despite recovering, he admitted to never being the same, and by the time he came back Leeds were embarking on a spree that would see them touch the stars under new manager David O’Leary.

Rio Ferdinand, Lucas Radebe and Jonathan Woodgate were contesting the places at centre-back – and that meant Molenaar was pushed out of the side.

He moved to Bradford City and played another 71 times, before returning to Holland where he has worked for a number of clubs, including Volendam, as a coach.

He said: “By the time I was fit at Leeds the club had moved to another level.

“But there’s no doubt that joining the club was the best thing that happened to me in my career.

“It was the definite highlight of all my years as a player.”