OPINION
Leeds United must ensure they hire a manager who is tough enough to fix the side’s disciplinary problems if they wish to make it into the Championship play-offs this season.
The Whites confirmed on Sunday via their official website,that Thomas Christiansen had left the club after being in charge for only seven-and-a-half months.
Under Christiansen’s care Leeds suffered a 4-1 defeat to Cardiff City on Saturday to extend their winless run to seven games across all competitions.
The recent poor form saw the Whites suffer a shock FA Cup exit courtesy of League Two’s Newport County and fall seven points off the play-offs positions.
Leeds United now currently sit 10th in the table and have difficult games against promotion-chasing Sheffield United, Derby County and Bristol City over the next couple of weeks.
Leeds’ poor form coincided with Christiansen being dealt a selection headache due to having several players ruled out due to suspensions.
Samuel Saiz has missed Leeds’ last four league games after receiving a six-game ban for spitting at Newport County’s Robbie Willmott in stoppage time at the end of Leeds’ shock 2-1 defeat in the FA Cup.
Ahead of his suspension, the Spanish attacker had played 25 times this season and scored nine goals.
Without Saiz’s creative presence, Leeds have suffered to be the side they were in the first half of the season with him.
However, Christiansen wasn’t just left without Saiz but several players in recent weeks have been ruled out due to suspensions.
In fact during the Danish manager’s last game, Gaetano Berardi received a red card after picking up a second yellow card for a foul on Cardiff’s Gary Madine just before half time.
Leeds Live has since confirmed that the FA have extended Berardi’s ban to two-games as it’s his second red of the season.
Berardi’s dismal saw him become the fourth Leeds player to see red in their last seven matches, and no manager no matter how good can deal with that amount of players being ruled out due to suspension.
The absence of Christiansen’s first-choice options can easily be blamed as causing Leeds to go on a winless run of seven games and due to the form of other clubs this run of games has severely dented their chances of making the play-offs this season.
Therefore, whomever Leeds hire as their next manager needs to instantly nip their disciplinary problems in the bud.
This means the club should hire a tough manager capable of making players fear the consequence if they were to receive a red card, if the Whites are to have any chance of making the play-offs.