Leeds players are divided and demoralized with young stars blaming senior pros for their slide into the relegation zone… with Sam Allardyce to mend a fracture when he takes charge on Wednesday
Sam Allardyce will be tasked with lifting a demoralized and divided group of players when he takes on his first training session as Leeds manager on Wednesday.
Mail Sport has learned that there is division in the dressing room at Elland Road that mirrors that in the boardroom, where director of football Victor Orta saw the departure on Tuesday over his belief that Javi Gracia should have been kept.
A number of players are also believed to have stayed loyal to Gracia, who won just three of his 11 games and left Leeds deep in relegation trouble after four defeats in the last five games.
Behind the scenes there are also tensions between Leeds’ younger and more experienced players, with a number of youngsters believing the team is suffering from a lack of leadership from the club’s senior professionals.
Leeds have imploded from a decent start in the past month after Gracia was belatedly appointed caretaker manager in February, conceding 18 goals in their last five games. Heated words were exchanged following the 5-1 home defeat to Crystal Palace last month that kicked off the dismal run and players’ morale hasn’t improved since.
Sam Allardyce will train for the first time as Leeds manager on Wednesday
A number of Leeds players are also believed to have remained loyal to Javi Gracia
Leeds United are delicately above the relegation zone going into their last four games
Leeds owner Andrea Radrizanni almost decided to sack Gracia after they missed a chance to stop rot by drawing 1-1 at home to Leicester last Tuesday, with Sunday’s 4-1 defeat at Bournemouth like the drop.
Orta was Gracia’s only defender at managerial level and after talks with Radrizanni on Monday and Tuesday, it was decided that the Spaniard should leave the club.