Leeds United: Pearson predicts rapid moves with recruitment
Yorkshire Evening Post 22/5/15
Adam Pearson is optimistic that the appointment of Uwe Rosler as head coach will be the start of a period of stability at Leeds United and says the German will have his “fullest support” as he tries to make his mark on the job.
Pearson attempted to paint a picture of calm at Leeds after Rosler agreed to become the club’s fifth first-team boss in the space of 12 months by signing a two-year contract on Wednesday.
The rapid turnover of coaches at Elland Road is indicative of United’s turbulent existence under owner Massimo Cellino but Pearson, who joined the club as executive director last week, said signs of unrest on the outside were “not what’s paddling under the water.”
Rosler’s arrival ended the reign of Neil Redfearn, the incumbent head coach who held the post for six months and has now been told that he is free to return to his old job as manager of the academy at Thorp Arch. Redfearn’s removal came on the back of a spell of intense speculation about his future and savage criticism of him by Cellino in a Sunday newspaper last weekend. He is understood to be taking legal advice before deciding whether to return to his academy role. Cellino himself has only just returned from a Football League ownership ban and he is at risk of further disqualifications with two tax evasion charges against him due to be heard in Cagliari next month.
The Italian staged a chaotic, 70-minute press conference at Elland Road last week in which he struggled to address the numerous issues affecting Leeds but United are in the process of constructing a new backroom team and expect to appoint an assistant boss, a first-team coach and a head of recruitment in the next seven days. Pearson admitted he was aware of criticism aimed at the club and Cellino, but said: “We’re excited about the future. I know it’s easy for me to say that after 10 days here but I’ve only seen positive signs behind the scenes so far. I can only take that as the way we’re going.
“What you see on the outside is not what’s paddling under the water. I think you’ll find over the coming weeks that there’s a sense of order and stability which starts to pervade the club. We’ve brought in a head coach who knows his own mind and he’ll be strong in those principles. He’ll have my fullest support alongside him. There’s been a process in recruiting (Rosler) which I think has been professional. And that’s the way we intend to continue.”
Rosler has begun discussions about the summer transfer market following his appointment and both he and Pearson insisted that he would have a strong influence on signings at Elland Road, despite Cellino’s habit of controlling that area of the club’s business.
United recently released nine players at the end of their contracts, including Aidan White and Rodolph Austin, but they are yet to clarify whether any of the seven loanees signed last season will return to Elland Road. Cellino decided towards the end of this season that the club would not be retaining Flamengo’s Adryan, believing the Brazilian to be unsuited to English football, but defender Dario Del Fabro could join from Cagliari for a second time.
Centre-back Sol Bamba is also looking for a permanent deal at Elland Road having finished the Championship term on loan from Palermo. The 31-year-old, however, signed off his time in Leeds with some critical comments about Cellino’s running of United.
Asked if Bamba might sign again, Pearson said: “He could well do. We’ve literally had no formal recruitment meeting at all and we know we’re perhaps a week behind where we should be.
“But we’ll very quickly get up to speed and the key people are close to coming in. Uwe is pretty clear on what he wants to come into the club. You’ll start to see some movement pretty quickly. We won’t hang around.”
Adam Pearson is optimistic that the appointment of Uwe Rosler as head coach will be the start of a period of stability at Leeds United and says the German will have his “fullest support” as he tries to make his mark on the job.
Pearson attempted to paint a picture of calm at Leeds after Rosler agreed to become the club’s fifth first-team boss in the space of 12 months by signing a two-year contract on Wednesday.
The rapid turnover of coaches at Elland Road is indicative of United’s turbulent existence under owner Massimo Cellino but Pearson, who joined the club as executive director last week, said signs of unrest on the outside were “not what’s paddling under the water.”
Rosler’s arrival ended the reign of Neil Redfearn, the incumbent head coach who held the post for six months and has now been told that he is free to return to his old job as manager of the academy at Thorp Arch. Redfearn’s removal came on the back of a spell of intense speculation about his future and savage criticism of him by Cellino in a Sunday newspaper last weekend. He is understood to be taking legal advice before deciding whether to return to his academy role. Cellino himself has only just returned from a Football League ownership ban and he is at risk of further disqualifications with two tax evasion charges against him due to be heard in Cagliari next month.
The Italian staged a chaotic, 70-minute press conference at Elland Road last week in which he struggled to address the numerous issues affecting Leeds but United are in the process of constructing a new backroom team and expect to appoint an assistant boss, a first-team coach and a head of recruitment in the next seven days. Pearson admitted he was aware of criticism aimed at the club and Cellino, but said: “We’re excited about the future. I know it’s easy for me to say that after 10 days here but I’ve only seen positive signs behind the scenes so far. I can only take that as the way we’re going.
“What you see on the outside is not what’s paddling under the water. I think you’ll find over the coming weeks that there’s a sense of order and stability which starts to pervade the club. We’ve brought in a head coach who knows his own mind and he’ll be strong in those principles. He’ll have my fullest support alongside him. There’s been a process in recruiting (Rosler) which I think has been professional. And that’s the way we intend to continue.”
Rosler has begun discussions about the summer transfer market following his appointment and both he and Pearson insisted that he would have a strong influence on signings at Elland Road, despite Cellino’s habit of controlling that area of the club’s business.
United recently released nine players at the end of their contracts, including Aidan White and Rodolph Austin, but they are yet to clarify whether any of the seven loanees signed last season will return to Elland Road. Cellino decided towards the end of this season that the club would not be retaining Flamengo’s Adryan, believing the Brazilian to be unsuited to English football, but defender Dario Del Fabro could join from Cagliari for a second time.
Centre-back Sol Bamba is also looking for a permanent deal at Elland Road having finished the Championship term on loan from Palermo. The 31-year-old, however, signed off his time in Leeds with some critical comments about Cellino’s running of United.
Asked if Bamba might sign again, Pearson said: “He could well do. We’ve literally had no formal recruitment meeting at all and we know we’re perhaps a week behind where we should be.
“But we’ll very quickly get up to speed and the key people are close to coming in. Uwe is pretty clear on what he wants to come into the club. You’ll start to see some movement pretty quickly. We won’t hang around.”