Leeds United sacked Javi Gracia and appointed Sam Allardyce as new interim manager..

2023-05-04 11:36

Leeds United sacked Javi Gracia and appointed Sam Allardyce as new interim manager..





Leeds United announced on the official website on Wednesday that the club's former Spanish interim head coach Javi Gracia has been sacked effective immediately, and renowned experienced English manager Sam Allardyce will become the club's new interim manager.


According to Leeds Untied's official statement, Allardyce will coach the club as interim manager until the end of the season. At the same time, Gracia's three assistants, Zigor Aranalde, Mikel Antia and Juan Solla will also be sacked immediately, while former Oxford United manager Karl Robinson will assist Allardyce as a interim assistant manager.


After the news of his appointment was confirmed, Allardyce said at the press conference for the first time as Leeds United coach that: "When you have the opportunity to coach Leeds United, you will gladly accept it."


"Trying to save this club and keep it in the Premier League is a huge responsibility. It's a challenge I'm ready to accept because Leeds are traditionally a big club."


"I've always known the great history of the club, the fact that I've played against Allan Clarke and people like him, it's always been a pleasure to play at Elland Road."


"For me and Karl, and especially for the lads in the data analytics department, we have a lot of work to do to try and encourage as many alternatives as possible to change how the way we work in every department and to get better."


"I always say to the players, you don't need to improve a lot. If everyone improves 2 per cent, the whole team improves 22 per cent, which is huge."


"So being 2 percent better than where they've been is going to make a big difference."


"I've seen a fairly positive attitude. Overall, their relationship seems to be good and my first impression is that they're eager to do better."


"It certainly takes a little bit of support and guidance and instills a little bit of confidence in them."


The 68-year-old Sam Allardyce was born in Dudley, England on October 19, 1954. He was famous for successfully leading the club to the Europa League when he was the manager of his former club Bolton Wanderers from the late 1990s to 2007.


Then, he also managed clubs such as Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United, West Ham United, and Crystal Palace. He has almost always led the club to relegation survival and has become the first choice managerial replacement of the middle and lower table Premier League clubs.


At the end of July 2016, Allardyce was appointed as the coach of the England national team, but he was forced to take resign in shame after it was revealed that he had completed too many transfers by illegal means when he was manager the Bolton Wanderers shortly after taking office.


In the summer of 2021, after he was unable to help West Bromwich Albion avoid relegation, Allardyce chose to fade out of football, and has only come back today, 2 years later.


Long before Allardyce took office, rumours that Leeds United had intended to replace Gracia had been spread online.


Gracia succeeded the former American coach Jesse Marsh as the interim head coach of Leeds United in February this year. However, after the Whites suffered a 5-game losing streak, Leeds United had no choice but to officially announce Gracia's dismissal.