'Leeds being Leeds' – Phil Hay responds to FI exclusive that Heckingbottom is set for sack
Football Insider broke the news that Leeds are set to sack manager Paul Heckingbottom.
Football Insider sources have told us that the decision now is whether Heckingbottom goes immediately or at the end of the season.
Phil Hay, a prominent Leeds United journalist from the Yorkshire Evening Post, responded to the story on the FI Twitter account after a fan asked him what he made of the news.
Hay was non-committal, acknowledging that results have been bad and that Heckingbottom hasn't made the impact that the club were hoping for.
He also said that from his own perspective there had been no improvement under Heckingbottom, although he did add that this was in part down to the squad he inherited.
He ended by saying, "But Leeds being Leeds, you'd never bet against anything."
Football Insider verdict:
Hay is absolutely right when he says there's been no improvement under Heck and he acknowledges that's in part to the squad. However, the same squad started off the season incredibly, and it can't be the case that every team has found them out? A new manager can bring a bounce – not always in points – but we would have wanted to see a change in attitude, in body language and in application. We can honestly say we've seen none of that since Heckingbottom has taken over. Noel Whelan called the body language of the players when they went down 3-1 against Preston on Tuesday night as "shocking" and that could have been the final straw for Andrea Radrizzani.