Javi Gracia's 'honest' stance on extending Leeds United stay beyond the end of the season - YEP 18/3/23

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Leeds United head coach Javi Gracia insists he is not thinking about anything beyond the end of this season

Joe Donnohue

Gracia’s focus remains squarely on Leeds’ primary objective which is retaining Premier League status for another campaign and says that is what he has been tasked with by the club’s board since arriving three weeks ago.

The 52-year-old got off to a flying start with victory over Southampton in his first outing as Leeds boss, but has since seen his team lose to Chelsea and draw with Brighton and Hove Albion.

This weekend’s fixture against Wolverhampton Wanderers pits the Whites against another fellow relegation-threatened side, clubs Gracia tended to have a positive record against during his time as Watford head coach between 2018 and 2019.

Leeds begin this round of matches in the bottom three for only the third time this season. On the two previous occasions, Leeds managed to pull themselves out of the relegation zone with wins and Gracia is focused on achieving similar at Molineux on Saturday.

Even if the Spaniard is able to save Leeds from the drop, there is no guarantee he will stay on as head coach. Gracia signed ‘flexible’ terms at the end of last month, and chooses not to think about his own future beyond the end of the season.

"I want to be honest with you and all of you: I'm not thinking of that,” he told reporters on Thursday. “My target is this season and try to achieve our objective. At the end of the season, we'll see.

"In this moment I'm only focused on trying to finish the only way the supporters, the players, the club deserve and remain in the Premier League.”

Gracia has brought with him to Leeds three trusted backroom staff members in Zigor Aranalde, Mikel Antia and Juan Solla. During his pre-match press conference on Thursday, he added that there was little time left for things outside of football, other than enjoying an evening meal, relaxing at his hotel or telephoning family who are not currently staying with him in Yorkshire.

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