Cellino tells Monk what input he will have in Leeds first-team affairs, compares to previous managers
By Alex Stevens
Garry Monk has been assured by Massimo Cellino that he will have the final say on all first-team affairs at Leeds.
Former Swansea manager Monk was presented to the media on Thursday afternoon, just three hours after signing a one-year rolling contract to be the club's new manager.
The 37-year-old becomes the seventh head coach of chairman Massimo Cellino’s controversial two-year tenure but declared he had felt an immediate “connection” with the Italian who he says will make no interference with first team affairs.
Monk revealed on Thursday that he had had a number of conversations with Cellino before the terms of the deal were agreed.
Asked if he would have the final say on first team selection and first team matters, Monk, as quoted by the Yorkshire Evening Post, replied: "For sure. Having spoken to the owner, it wasn’t even a discussion. It wasn’t even part of the questioning or thought process.
"He made that very clear from the very start, that he’s never done that in the past and that he doesn’t have any intention of doing that in the future.
"He wants to work with me. I felt a really good connection straight away with him and everyone at this club in this short space of time."
"We will be working together, we will be on the same page with the same focus and we we will stay focused on that."
Monk, whose only managerial job to date has been a 20-month spell in charge of Swansea that ended when he was sacked last December, was appointed less than 48 hours after Steve Evans was sacked.
Like Evans, Monk has also been handed a short-term rolling contract, prompting further discussion about Cellino's lack of long-term planning.
Leeds fans reacted positively to news that their club had secured an emerging manager with a creditable Premier League record, but this was mixed with scepticism about Cellino's hire-and-fire policy.