Exclusive - Leeds were damaged by ownership saga, claims McDermott
Talksport 10/4/14
By Dom Bryant
Leeds United manager Brian McDermott believes the club's long drawn out takeover by Massimo Cellino has hampered their promotion bid - but reckons with the Italian on board they can now finally kick on.
The Italian businessman was finally successful in his appeal to own the club on Tuesday, bringing an end to more than three months of controversy. The Whites had initially agreed to sell a 75 per cent stake to Cellino back in February until the Football League blocked the move.
Cellino has assured McDermott he is safe in his job until the end of season, a welcome relief considering the former Reading boss was at one stage bizarrely sacked before the club denied this was the case.
Leeds were on course for the play-offs before the controversial ownership issues arose but have since slipped away and McDermott told Drivetime: "Yeah it’s been a difficult time if you consider where we were at Christmas - in the top six - and I’m thinking, 'yeah we’re definitely going to kick on and get into the play-offs'. But then we had turmoil to say the least.
"But I have to say it’s a massive weight off my shoulders now really. The club’s got new ownership, we know where we’re going to be and we can look to the future. You don’t want to make excuses.
"You try to take all the excuses away from a football match but it did have an affect around the training ground, there’s no doubt about that. The results, all of a sudden, just started to go and we couldn’t get back on track.
"But you can see the future now. It’s a great club and the new owner has got real ambition, I think he’s got clout and I think it gives us a chance."
By Dom Bryant
Leeds United manager Brian McDermott believes the club's long drawn out takeover by Massimo Cellino has hampered their promotion bid - but reckons with the Italian on board they can now finally kick on.
The Italian businessman was finally successful in his appeal to own the club on Tuesday, bringing an end to more than three months of controversy. The Whites had initially agreed to sell a 75 per cent stake to Cellino back in February until the Football League blocked the move.
Cellino has assured McDermott he is safe in his job until the end of season, a welcome relief considering the former Reading boss was at one stage bizarrely sacked before the club denied this was the case.
Leeds were on course for the play-offs before the controversial ownership issues arose but have since slipped away and McDermott told Drivetime: "Yeah it’s been a difficult time if you consider where we were at Christmas - in the top six - and I’m thinking, 'yeah we’re definitely going to kick on and get into the play-offs'. But then we had turmoil to say the least.
"But I have to say it’s a massive weight off my shoulders now really. The club’s got new ownership, we know where we’re going to be and we can look to the future. You don’t want to make excuses.
"You try to take all the excuses away from a football match but it did have an affect around the training ground, there’s no doubt about that. The results, all of a sudden, just started to go and we couldn’t get back on track.
"But you can see the future now. It’s a great club and the new owner has got real ambition, I think he’s got clout and I think it gives us a chance."
