OPINION
Paul Heckingbottom secured only his second win as Leeds United boss on Friday as the Whites overcame strugglers Bolton 2-1 at Elland Road.
And he has one man to thank for the win, attacking midfielder Pablo Hernandez, who was fantastic all night and finished off with a goal and an assist.
The 5ft 8inSpaniard is currently embroiled in contract talks with the club, which Heckingbottom confirmed the other day were ‘ongoing’, but claimed it was ‘pointless’ to talk about until a conclusion was reached.
Well, whatever has been holding up these talks must be sorted out as soon as possible, with Hernandez’s display against Bolton illustrating exactly why Leeds need to keep him.
In running the show like that, the 32-year-old will also be attracting attention from elsewhere, and if they are not careful then Leeds may find they lose Hernandez to a rival this summer.
Hernandez has made it clear that he wants to stay at Leeds next season, so the hold-up in talks must be coming from the Leeds end.
The club may have a problem with his age, but Hernandez happily signed a one-year deal last summer, so why not offer him the same terms again?
Heckingbottom has not exactly got off to the best start as Whites boss, and while he will be looking to mould the squad to his liking this summer, the funds will simply not be there to enact a complete overhaul.
He will need players like Hernandez who are already at the club, ones that he knows can perform at the required level for a side chasing promotion.
Signing Hernandez on is a no-brainer, one which became even more so with last night’s display.
Heckingbottom and Victor Orta need to stop messing about, sign Hernandez on and give the fans something more to be cheerful about after a rare win on Friday.