Leeds sack David Hockaday after six games as Cellino makes another cull
Guardian 28/8/14
David Hockaday has been sacked as the manager of Leeds United after just six games in charge.
Leeds United’s experiment with David Hockaday ended after just six games on Thursday as the club’s owner, Massimo Cellino, sacked his head coach. The fifty-six-year-old Hockaday was a shock appointment by the Italian on 19 June and now, 10 weeks later, he has lost his job.
Hockaday, whose only previous managerial experience before taking the Leeds job was at Forest Green, has lost four of his six games in charge.
His sacking came the day after an embarrassing 2-1 defeat to Bradford in the Capital One Cup and four days after Cellino backed out of a decision to sack him in the wake of a 4-1 humbling at Watford. Cellino said at the time that he had chosen to blame himself and not Hockaday, but the man known in Italy as the “manager eater” has now pulled the trigger for a third time since arriving in Yorkshire in January.
“I’d like to thank David for his efforts over the last two and a half months,” Cellino said. “But the results since the start of the season have meant we needed to act and make this decision.
“After the defeat at Bradford I realised that my decision to keep David at the club following the defeat at Watford was wrong, and I had to change my mind on the coach’s position. As a club we will now begin our search for a new head coach.”
Hockaday’s assistant, Junior Lewis, has also lost his job and Neil Redfearn will lead the team against Bolton on Saturday.
Hockaday had been in discussion with Cellino about new signings as recently as Tuesday and was convinced that he would be able to guide Leeds back to the Champions League from the Championship.
“This guy wants Leeds to be in the Champions League, he does. I believe over time that will happen,” said Hockaday on Tuesday. “I think it’s inevitable. The timescale I don’t know, I want to be part of that journey, a big part of that journey. I am going to fight tooth and nail to be here for as long as I can, to be as successful as I can.”
Hockaday took training on Thursday morning and was then told to leave the club. With Cellino’s desire to have a say in the club’s transfer policy, it remains to be seen how many respected coaches will be interested in replacing Hockaday.
David Hockaday has been sacked as the manager of Leeds United after just six games in charge.
Leeds United’s experiment with David Hockaday ended after just six games on Thursday as the club’s owner, Massimo Cellino, sacked his head coach. The fifty-six-year-old Hockaday was a shock appointment by the Italian on 19 June and now, 10 weeks later, he has lost his job.
Hockaday, whose only previous managerial experience before taking the Leeds job was at Forest Green, has lost four of his six games in charge.
His sacking came the day after an embarrassing 2-1 defeat to Bradford in the Capital One Cup and four days after Cellino backed out of a decision to sack him in the wake of a 4-1 humbling at Watford. Cellino said at the time that he had chosen to blame himself and not Hockaday, but the man known in Italy as the “manager eater” has now pulled the trigger for a third time since arriving in Yorkshire in January.
“I’d like to thank David for his efforts over the last two and a half months,” Cellino said. “But the results since the start of the season have meant we needed to act and make this decision.
“After the defeat at Bradford I realised that my decision to keep David at the club following the defeat at Watford was wrong, and I had to change my mind on the coach’s position. As a club we will now begin our search for a new head coach.”
Hockaday’s assistant, Junior Lewis, has also lost his job and Neil Redfearn will lead the team against Bolton on Saturday.
Hockaday had been in discussion with Cellino about new signings as recently as Tuesday and was convinced that he would be able to guide Leeds back to the Champions League from the Championship.
“This guy wants Leeds to be in the Champions League, he does. I believe over time that will happen,” said Hockaday on Tuesday. “I think it’s inevitable. The timescale I don’t know, I want to be part of that journey, a big part of that journey. I am going to fight tooth and nail to be here for as long as I can, to be as successful as I can.”
Hockaday took training on Thursday morning and was then told to leave the club. With Cellino’s desire to have a say in the club’s transfer policy, it remains to be seen how many respected coaches will be interested in replacing Hockaday.
