Leeds United chief questions commitment of managerial candidates and addresses Javi Gracia delay

Javi Gracia was appointed on Tuesday, 15 days after Marsch was sacked, having demonstrated to the board a commitment to be at Elland Road that Kinnear did not see in other candidates.

The days that followed Marsch’s exit did see suggestions, which never appeared remotely realistic, that Mauricio Pochettino could be targetted as Marsch’s replacement. Who they actually went for, in what they said was a four-strong shortlist of managers currently in work, included Rayo Vallecano boss Andoni Iraloa and Nuno Espírito Santo, currently at Al-Ittihad. Arne Slot, who has guided Feyenoord to the top of the Dutch top flight this season and won Manager of the Year for his efforts in the previous campaign, and Marcelo Gallardo were then considered, along with Alfred Schreuder, whose appearance at Elland Road led to a backlash centered around the disastrous way in which his time at Ajax recently ended.

Club owner Andrea Radrizzani teased supporters with a Tweet that suggested, one day after Marsch’s sacking, that the club were close to an appointment, but ultimately none of the men Leeds initially targeted were obtainable, either because they could not or would not extracate themselves from their clubs or because they preferred a summer arrival, presumably once someone else had guided the club to Premier League safety.

The plan was then to let caretaker Michael Skubala stay in the post for the Everton and Southampton games, before a performance and result at Goodison that left away supporters chanting about the board and director of football Victor Orta.

When the plan changed again, Gracia duly arrived and Kinnear placed value on the Spaniard’s desire to take the job, something others evidently did not show.

“He [Gracia] impressed everybody in all of our meetings, not only because he had a detailed plan of the tactical adjustments he believes the team needs to make to quickly reverse our fortunes but because he has a real belief in the capability of the squad and a passion to be at Leeds United,” said the CEO in his programme notes for the Saints game.

"This commitment was not shared by everyone else. There was a definite mismatch between the profile of candidates some sections of the fanbase & the media perceived would be willing to join Leeds & the reality."

Kinnear also defended the length of time it took for an appointment to be made, blaming the misjudgement of how easy it would be to extract two targets from their clubs.

“We fully understand the frustration supporters felt during the process, but the reality is these appointments take 1-2 weeks, so being at the longer end of that range is not unreasonable,” he said.

"The delay was primarily due to two of the identified candidates who we knew wanted the role and believed they could be released, misjudged the strength of resolve that their current clubs had to retain them. Javi was on our radar and did not have any contractual complexity that prevented him from committing quickly.”

Gracia was unveiled to the press on Friday after his visa was granted and he expressed confidence in the players he has inherited and their ability to stay in the division. His first game could hardly be bigger, with bottom side Southampton seeking to leapfrog Leeds with victory at Elland Road.

"Please give the team your full support today,” said Kinnear.

"I believe Javi can restore the team’s confidence and give them new momentum and there is not a better place and time to start, than at Elland Road this afternoon.”