Leeds United: Keeping Ross sent out right signal - Mac
YEP 20/11/13
Brian McDermott says rejecting boro’s three bids for Ross McCormack was right for the player, fans and club. Phil Hay reports.
Every player has his price but a third and final offer of close to £2million from Middlesbrough fell short of Ross McCormack’s. Turning down that cash in August might rank as Brian McDermott’s best piece of business at Leeds United to date.
Opinion over McCormack’s value is divided, as Boro’s bids and United’s repeated rejections proved, but £2million looks ever more cheeky as the striker’s goals flow. A hamstring strain permitting, he will line up for Saturday’s game between the clubs as the Championship’s leading scorer.
Boro moved three times for McCormack and were absolutely convinced that Leeds would sell the Scotland international for something close to their highest offer. Their last offer was worth in excess of £1.5million but United said no and signed him instead to a new four-year contract on August 30, securing what Brian McDermott called the “peak years” of McCormack’s career.
The evidence of this season does not suggest that McDermott’s confidence was misplaced. McCormack has 12 goals already – 11 in the Championship – and sailed into the international break on the crest of a four-goal wave at Charlton Athletic. In that sort of form, Boro’s desire to have him playing in red speaks for itself.
McDermott for his part never fancied the idea of selling McCormack and always felt that the forward’s intention was to sit tight at Elland Road long-term. The deal McCormack signed in August will take him past the age of 30.
“He always wanted to stay here and he never, ever wavered,” McDermott said. “I had conversations with him virtually every day while the bids were coming in and not once did he tell me that he wanted to consider his options or listen to what was being offered elsewhere.
“Players look for security so huge credit to the board for giving him a long contract and keeping him here but we felt he was worth it. And in the form he’s in now, I don’t think many people would argue with that. You can see why other clubs were interested.
“That £2million on the table – I just looked at it and thought ‘it’s nowhere near enough to be losing someone like Ross.’ I see him as a Premier League player and what chance do you have of getting another one of those for £2million? It would have been the wrong deal for us, very wrong, and everyone here realised that.
“Some offers you can’t turn down and I saw that side of the coin at Reading. But £2million for someone like Ross wasn’t my idea of a good deal. If he was doing for another club what he’s doing for us, we’d be struggling to explain it.”
Boro are one of two clubs who are known to have approached Leeds about McCormack in the summer. Blackpool’s valuation of him was lower than Boro’s and the Lancashire club proposed a combined bid of around £1million for the forward and Aidan White but Leeds were unimpressed and did not encourage further talks.
Blackpool’s assistant boss, Alex Rae, was known to McCormack from their time together as players at Rangers and Boro were believed to be willing to hand the striker a sizeable rise on his weekly wage at Elland Road. In all it gave McCormack much to think about as the transfer deadline approached.
“It would be wrong to say I was never worried,” McDermott said. “You can’t control what other clubs do or how much they’re going to bid and we were very late in the transfer window. It’s a situation that, as a manager, you want to see put to bed. And I think Ross felt the same way too.
“But players like him are central to what we’re trying to do. I’m looking to get value into the squad here and I don’t mean get value so that we can cash-in on players and sell them. I want players who will get better and carry us forward for years to come – players who can go on to be as good as others who, at the moment, we maybe can’t afford to sign.
“To use Ross as an example, I don’t think he’s got more to come. I know he has. Much more. And if he carries on the way he’s going, he’s going to be some asset. That’s why turning down £2million and giving him a new deal was the right way to go. You’re investing in someone you believe in.”
McCormack’s four goals in United’s 4-2 victory over Charlton Athletic belied a tactical change that asked him and Rodolph Austin to devote much of their time in the second half to drifting out wide and nullifying the threat of Charlton’s full-backs.
“It all went a bit unnoticed because of Ross’ goals,” McDermott said, “but the two of them did a superb job for us.
“Ross’ finishing was phenomenal but I don’t think the game would have gone as it did if it hadn’t been for that subtle change at half-time. We needed to keep their full-backs quiet. Players don’t enjoy that sort of work as much as they enjoy scoring goals but that’s where attitude comes into the equation.”
McCormack should be passed fit for Saturday’s meeting with Boro, despite leaving Scotland’s camp with hamstring strain on Monday. McDermott will limit his changes in general, though the appointment of ex-Chelsea assistant Aitor Karanka as Boro’s new manager last week might alter conventional wisdom about their formation and tactics.
“To be absolutely honest, I’m not too familiar with him,” McDermott said. “He’s obviously got a very good background in football but I don’t know how he’ll approach things on Saturday.
“I’ve seen their last game and we’ll be prepared for whatever they decide to do. It might be that he sticks with the team as it is or goes for a complete change but at the end of the day, there are only so many formations or systems you can use. What matters to me is that we get our own preparation right.”
Brian McDermott says rejecting boro’s three bids for Ross McCormack was right for the player, fans and club. Phil Hay reports.
Every player has his price but a third and final offer of close to £2million from Middlesbrough fell short of Ross McCormack’s. Turning down that cash in August might rank as Brian McDermott’s best piece of business at Leeds United to date.
Opinion over McCormack’s value is divided, as Boro’s bids and United’s repeated rejections proved, but £2million looks ever more cheeky as the striker’s goals flow. A hamstring strain permitting, he will line up for Saturday’s game between the clubs as the Championship’s leading scorer.
Boro moved three times for McCormack and were absolutely convinced that Leeds would sell the Scotland international for something close to their highest offer. Their last offer was worth in excess of £1.5million but United said no and signed him instead to a new four-year contract on August 30, securing what Brian McDermott called the “peak years” of McCormack’s career.
The evidence of this season does not suggest that McDermott’s confidence was misplaced. McCormack has 12 goals already – 11 in the Championship – and sailed into the international break on the crest of a four-goal wave at Charlton Athletic. In that sort of form, Boro’s desire to have him playing in red speaks for itself.
McDermott for his part never fancied the idea of selling McCormack and always felt that the forward’s intention was to sit tight at Elland Road long-term. The deal McCormack signed in August will take him past the age of 30.
“He always wanted to stay here and he never, ever wavered,” McDermott said. “I had conversations with him virtually every day while the bids were coming in and not once did he tell me that he wanted to consider his options or listen to what was being offered elsewhere.
“Players look for security so huge credit to the board for giving him a long contract and keeping him here but we felt he was worth it. And in the form he’s in now, I don’t think many people would argue with that. You can see why other clubs were interested.
“That £2million on the table – I just looked at it and thought ‘it’s nowhere near enough to be losing someone like Ross.’ I see him as a Premier League player and what chance do you have of getting another one of those for £2million? It would have been the wrong deal for us, very wrong, and everyone here realised that.
“Some offers you can’t turn down and I saw that side of the coin at Reading. But £2million for someone like Ross wasn’t my idea of a good deal. If he was doing for another club what he’s doing for us, we’d be struggling to explain it.”
Boro are one of two clubs who are known to have approached Leeds about McCormack in the summer. Blackpool’s valuation of him was lower than Boro’s and the Lancashire club proposed a combined bid of around £1million for the forward and Aidan White but Leeds were unimpressed and did not encourage further talks.
Blackpool’s assistant boss, Alex Rae, was known to McCormack from their time together as players at Rangers and Boro were believed to be willing to hand the striker a sizeable rise on his weekly wage at Elland Road. In all it gave McCormack much to think about as the transfer deadline approached.
“It would be wrong to say I was never worried,” McDermott said. “You can’t control what other clubs do or how much they’re going to bid and we were very late in the transfer window. It’s a situation that, as a manager, you want to see put to bed. And I think Ross felt the same way too.
“But players like him are central to what we’re trying to do. I’m looking to get value into the squad here and I don’t mean get value so that we can cash-in on players and sell them. I want players who will get better and carry us forward for years to come – players who can go on to be as good as others who, at the moment, we maybe can’t afford to sign.
“To use Ross as an example, I don’t think he’s got more to come. I know he has. Much more. And if he carries on the way he’s going, he’s going to be some asset. That’s why turning down £2million and giving him a new deal was the right way to go. You’re investing in someone you believe in.”
McCormack’s four goals in United’s 4-2 victory over Charlton Athletic belied a tactical change that asked him and Rodolph Austin to devote much of their time in the second half to drifting out wide and nullifying the threat of Charlton’s full-backs.
“It all went a bit unnoticed because of Ross’ goals,” McDermott said, “but the two of them did a superb job for us.
“Ross’ finishing was phenomenal but I don’t think the game would have gone as it did if it hadn’t been for that subtle change at half-time. We needed to keep their full-backs quiet. Players don’t enjoy that sort of work as much as they enjoy scoring goals but that’s where attitude comes into the equation.”
McCormack should be passed fit for Saturday’s meeting with Boro, despite leaving Scotland’s camp with hamstring strain on Monday. McDermott will limit his changes in general, though the appointment of ex-Chelsea assistant Aitor Karanka as Boro’s new manager last week might alter conventional wisdom about their formation and tactics.
“To be absolutely honest, I’m not too familiar with him,” McDermott said. “He’s obviously got a very good background in football but I don’t know how he’ll approach things on Saturday.
“I’ve seen their last game and we’ll be prepared for whatever they decide to do. It might be that he sticks with the team as it is or goes for a complete change but at the end of the day, there are only so many formations or systems you can use. What matters to me is that we get our own preparation right.”