Former Leeds United manager Paul Heckingbottom has revealed that he was involved in a number of verbal bust ups with senior figures at the club before he was sacked as manager at Elland Road in an explosive verdict on his depature.
The former Barnsley boss was in charge of the Whites for a short reign between February and June of 2018, replacing Thomas Christiansen after his poor first half of the campaign but the new man was unable to turn the club’s fortunes around, eventually finishing in mid-table after early hopes of a play off push.
Speaking about his Elland Road departure, Heckingbottom was left fuming over how the club dealt with the rumours of his sacking and that that a clash of ideas led to a number of arguments between him and those in charge.
He told the Yorkshire Post: “The disappointing thing was that they came and got me because they wanted X, Y and Z and spelt it out and said, ‘This has got to happen’. But within a couple of weeks it was not happening.
“I took people on and had arguments over it and tried to make changes and did. It maybe quickened my exit a little bit. But the worst thing I could have done was sit tight knowing it is going to fail 10 months down the line and then get the boot.
“The club, to protect their own back, fuelled it a little bit, which I did not like. I do not think there was any need for it.”
Opinion
It seems everything was not as it seems behind-the-scenes at Elland Road when Heckingbottom was in charge, and with that in mind it comes as more of a surprise that the club were able to convince Marcelo Bielsa to take charge as his replacement. From the former manager’s revelation, it appears that the individuals at the very top of Elland Road had their own ideas of what they wanted, and that when Heckingbottom came in and challenged them they were not forthcoming at changing their approach. Of course, it appears to have worked out for the best for the club, with Bielsa doing a brilliant job in charge, but there is no way a man of his calibre and reputation would have accepted other people choosing what he can and cannot do. It therefore can be expected that the decision makers at Elland Road have bowed down to the manager’s whims in order to keep him satisfied – a wise decision it appears.