Mail 18/2/12
Warnock takes charge at Leeds ahead of rival's £1m lure
By Joe Bernstein
Promotion specialist Neil Warnock rejected a
£1million-a-year offer from ambitious League One club Huddersfield to manage Yorkshire rivals Leeds United.
Warnock was pursued by both clubs, with Huddersfield owner Dean Hoyle attempting to gazump Championship side Leeds by also making large funds available to try to get his team all the way to the Premier League.
Leeds owner Ken Bates met Warnock in Monaco on Friday and, while not able to match Huddersfield's basic salary, Warnock felt the chance to go to Elland Road was too good to turn down.
The move is a huge blow to Huddersfield, who were counting on recruiting Warnock when they sacked Lee Clark last week.
With the team fourth in League One, they hoped they would be more attractive than Leeds, whose fans are protesting against Bates for not investing in the team.
Warnock, sacked by QPR last month, has won promotion from the lower leagues seven times.
Bates and Warnock were spotted outside the Café de Paris in the appropriately titled Casino Square in Monaco on Friday.
Warnock said: 'I feel I have one big challenge left in me and believe Leeds is a club that should be in the Premier League.
'I want to be the man who is able to deliver this for a set of fans who never cease to amaze me with their numbers and their loyalty.
'Having met with Ken Bates it was an easy decision to take up the challenge and with his support, we share the same vision of getting Leeds United in the Premier League.'
Bates added: 'We believe the appointment is arguably the most important we have made. The objective was to appoint a manager who had for a proven track record of getting teams promoted and in Neil we have a man whose record is second to none.
'We want to be in the Premier League and we will support in the quest to get us there.'
The chairman later told Yorkshire Radio: 'Neil flew out to Monaco on Friday morning and we spent about six hours together. We discussed all aspects of the club, the squad, and we shook hands on a deal about 6pm before he flew home.
'He's confident. We go back a long way. I first tried to recruit him as manager when I was at Chelsea. I said to him it won't be long before people are referring to us as the odd couple.
He has a proven record, he knows what it takes, and he gets value for money out of players. Saturday is an important game, but there's still 42 points to play for after that and it's anybody's race. It's like when won promotion from League One with clubs knocking each other about a bit.
'This gives us a fresh start with a fresh attitude, and the players have to prove to the new manager they are worthy of playing for Leeds United.'
Bates described it as the most important managerial appointment since arriving at Leeds in 2005.
He said: 'It is. We've got everything else right, we're one of the most progressive clubs in the league, when you read about the troubles at others clubs which are coming out almost daily.
'We're stable, we have a good squad, a big squad, and an experienced manager and hopefully this is the last piece in the jigsaw to take us back where we belong.'
Warnock has been told he can bring in his own backroom staff and will ask his former assistants at QPR - Mick Jones and Keith Curle.
Neil Redfearn takes charge for Saturday's Championship game against Doncaster before returning to his role with the club's academy.
Warnock jumped to the top of Leeds' wish-list after Mick McCarthy made it clear he intended to take at least a month away from management following his dismissal by Wolves.
And Bates has wasted no time in making his move, knowing that the 63-year-old was also approached by Wolves.
Warnock would no doubt have been reminding Bates that QPR were the third club he'd taken into the top flight in a 32-year career which has seen him win promotion seven times.
Ray Fell, chairman of Leeds' supporters club, told Sky Sports News: 'He's a man that can motivate us and reopen our season.
'There's no money available so he may bring a loan player in or two - but he'll give us experience and get the most out of the players on the books, which for the last period hasn't been happening.'
Warnock takes charge at Leeds ahead of rival's £1m lure
By Joe Bernstein
Promotion specialist Neil Warnock rejected a
£1million-a-year offer from ambitious League One club Huddersfield to manage Yorkshire rivals Leeds United.Warnock was pursued by both clubs, with Huddersfield owner Dean Hoyle attempting to gazump Championship side Leeds by also making large funds available to try to get his team all the way to the Premier League.
Leeds owner Ken Bates met Warnock in Monaco on Friday and, while not able to match Huddersfield's basic salary, Warnock felt the chance to go to Elland Road was too good to turn down.
The move is a huge blow to Huddersfield, who were counting on recruiting Warnock when they sacked Lee Clark last week.
With the team fourth in League One, they hoped they would be more attractive than Leeds, whose fans are protesting against Bates for not investing in the team.
Warnock, sacked by QPR last month, has won promotion from the lower leagues seven times.
Bates and Warnock were spotted outside the Café de Paris in the appropriately titled Casino Square in Monaco on Friday.
Warnock said: 'I feel I have one big challenge left in me and believe Leeds is a club that should be in the Premier League.
'I want to be the man who is able to deliver this for a set of fans who never cease to amaze me with their numbers and their loyalty.
'Having met with Ken Bates it was an easy decision to take up the challenge and with his support, we share the same vision of getting Leeds United in the Premier League.'
Bates added: 'We believe the appointment is arguably the most important we have made. The objective was to appoint a manager who had for a proven track record of getting teams promoted and in Neil we have a man whose record is second to none.
'We want to be in the Premier League and we will support in the quest to get us there.'
The chairman later told Yorkshire Radio: 'Neil flew out to Monaco on Friday morning and we spent about six hours together. We discussed all aspects of the club, the squad, and we shook hands on a deal about 6pm before he flew home.
'He's confident. We go back a long way. I first tried to recruit him as manager when I was at Chelsea. I said to him it won't be long before people are referring to us as the odd couple.
He has a proven record, he knows what it takes, and he gets value for money out of players. Saturday is an important game, but there's still 42 points to play for after that and it's anybody's race. It's like when won promotion from League One with clubs knocking each other about a bit.
'This gives us a fresh start with a fresh attitude, and the players have to prove to the new manager they are worthy of playing for Leeds United.'
Bates described it as the most important managerial appointment since arriving at Leeds in 2005.
He said: 'It is. We've got everything else right, we're one of the most progressive clubs in the league, when you read about the troubles at others clubs which are coming out almost daily.
'We're stable, we have a good squad, a big squad, and an experienced manager and hopefully this is the last piece in the jigsaw to take us back where we belong.'
Warnock has been told he can bring in his own backroom staff and will ask his former assistants at QPR - Mick Jones and Keith Curle.
Neil Redfearn takes charge for Saturday's Championship game against Doncaster before returning to his role with the club's academy.
Warnock jumped to the top of Leeds' wish-list after Mick McCarthy made it clear he intended to take at least a month away from management following his dismissal by Wolves.
And Bates has wasted no time in making his move, knowing that the 63-year-old was also approached by Wolves.
Warnock would no doubt have been reminding Bates that QPR were the third club he'd taken into the top flight in a 32-year career which has seen him win promotion seven times.
Ray Fell, chairman of Leeds' supporters club, told Sky Sports News: 'He's a man that can motivate us and reopen our season.
'There's no money available so he may bring a loan player in or two - but he'll give us experience and get the most out of the players on the books, which for the last period hasn't been happening.'