Championship

Sky Sports News: Monk left Leeds because he was left unconvinced

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Garry Monk abruptly quit Leeds because he was left “unconvinced” that the club wanted to keep him beyond 2018, reporter Richard Graves told the broadcaster’s Sky Sports News channel.

The Championship club confirmed on their official website on Thursday afternoon that they had “reluctantly” accepted Monk’s resignation with “shock”.

Speaking on Sky Sports News HQ on Thursday afternoon, Graves claimed that Monk wanted to stay at the club “all along” and was “disappointed” that he had to come to his decision.

Club owner Andrea Radrizzani claimed on his personal Twitter account moments after Monk had left the club that he was “keen” on a three-year deal with the Englishmen.

However, reporter Graves has offered an insight into Monk’s viewpoint on why he had to take the tough decision in leaving Elland Road after one season in charge.

“We are hearing that he decided to resign as Leeds manager because he did not feel the club had any real intention to keep him long term,” Graves told Sky Sports News HQ on Thursday (25 May). “Remember, Garry Monk had been involved in extended talks over his future in which Andrea Radrazzani told Sky Sports News, only last night, that his intention was to trigger a 12-month extension to Garry Monk’s current deal.

“But during those discussions, we understand that Monk had come to believe that Leeds had no intention of extending his deal beyond those 12 months, that was an issue, as a result, Monk is understood to have been unconvinced of Leeds’ future intentions  and decided that it would be in his better interests of him to leave Elland Road.

“We do understand that Garry Monk all along had been quite keen to stay here as Leeds manager and is disappointed as anyone that he has had to have made this decision.”

Former Swansea boss Monk was initially offered a one-year rolling contract by then-owner Massimo Cellino last summer, who officially left the club on Tuesday after Radrizzani had taken complete control of the Championship side.

It was speculated that Monk was going to extend his contract as soon as the takeover was complete but many fans were left in shock when their manager decided to leave. 

In his only season in charge of Leeds, Monk turned the club into promotion hopefuls after years of struggle in the second tier of English football.

The Elland Road faithful were beginning to believe that they were edging closer to a return to the Premier League despite missing out on a top-six spot by five points this season.

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