Leeds United owner Andrea Radrizzani has claimed that manger Paul Heckingbottom still needs to prove himself, but is pleased by some aspects of his start.
The 40-year-old boss only arrived at Elland Road at the beginning of February as he succeed Thomas Christiansen at the helm.
He has endured a difficult start to life with the Yorkshire giants after leaving former club Barnsley.
Heckingbottom has seen his side win just once during this seven league games in charge and pick up six points out of a possible 21.
That has seen them slip down to 13th in the league standings and the play-offs now seem unrealistic as they are 11 points adrift.
Radrizzani has assessed the early reign of Heckingbottom and highlighted several strong points about him, but the jury is certainly still out as he waits to get some positive results.
“I’m pleased with his leadership and communication skills and his motivation. He needs to prove himself but I’m convinced he can be a good coach for the club. Hopefully he will get better results,” he said, as quoted by Yorkshire Evening Post reported Phil Hay on his personal Twitter account.
Radrizzani on Heckingbottom: "I'm pleased with his leadership and communication skills and his motivation. He needs to prove himself but I'm convinced he can be a good coach for the club. Hopefully he will get better results." #lufc
— Phil Hay (@PhilHay_) March 13, 2018
OPINION
Heckingbottom has endured a rocky start to life at Leeds and seen any slim promotion chances fade away, but has had some very difficult fixtures and his players have been unable to raise their game. The Yorkshireman looks like a good fit for the Whites as he appears to have good passion and wants his players to play nice football. It may take a period of time to implement his ideas and the club now have to give him the reigns over the summer to help reshuffle the squad. Leeds are still short in quite a few areas and will need to make some significant signings if they are to challenge for promotion next season.