Former Leeds United star makes blunt admission over Elland Road spell after move from Aston Villa — Yorkshire Post 7/5/24

Stephen Warnock has admitted he was left feeling sorry for himself by frustrations on the pitch during his time at Leeds United.

By Tom Coates

The defender joined Leeds in January 2013, making the move from Aston Villa. He made the move less than three years on from his last England appearance and was considered by many to be a coup for the Whites

During a turbulent chapter in the club’s history, Warnock was among the club’s better performers and served captain for a period before leaving for Derby County.

Warnock’s move to Leeds was the first permanent switch away from the Premier League of his career and he has admitted he found the drop in standards difficult.

Speaking on the Under The Cosh podcast, he said: "I found it tough. What helped was, I had Michael Brown alongside me as well, who had been a Premier League player. His attitude is phenomenal. The way he approaches training, things like that, I sort of bounced off him a lot, because of the way his attitude was.

"I felt sorry for myself for a bit. I hate being disrespectful but if I made an overlap, a run forward, at Blackburn, Tugay [Kerimoğlu] would pick me out. But then I’d have [James] Milner and [Stiliyan] Petrov at Villa. And then I went to Leeds and I’m making runs and the ball’s not coming.

"You have to change your game. I remember just becoming a static full-back, thinking ‘I’m not running forward’. To be honest with you, I probably dropped my standards because of it as well.”

Warnock confided in Wayne Bridge about his struggles, another former England left-back who had dropped into the EFL. Warnock explained: "I probably thought I could go down into the Championship and p**s it, which you can’t. I struggled for a bit to be honest with you. I thought ‘I’ll go Leeds, maybe I’ll stay for six months to a year, and someone will buy me’.

"I remember speaking to Wayne Bridge about it when I retired, because Bridgey went to Reading. He said exactly the same. I was making runs and doing things and it wasn’t coming to me. He said ‘I’m getting exposed’, thinking ‘what is going on here?’. I had exactly the same problems, it’s just part and parcel of it.”

Despite encountering frustration on the pitch, Warnock was full of praise for the Whites and paid tribute to the passionate support the club receives from fans.

He said: “I went to Leeds and to be honest, it was brilliant at Leeds for a period. When you talk about [Aston] Villa being a massive club, they [Leeds] are huge. The following they’ve got is phenomenal.”

Speaking to the podcast, Warnock shared how he was on his way to West Ham before his agent received a phone call while traveling to London. He was given a two-and-a-half-year deal to move to Elland Road.

But Warnock shared how his agent actually betrayed him, by convincing him to join Leeds:

The former Leeds defender says that the reason his agent convinced him of a move to Leeds is because of Aaron Cresswell, who ended up moving to West Ham in the summer of 2014 from Ipswich Town.

Despite the two moves being 18 months apart, Warnock claims that his agent convinced him to join Leeds and not Premier League side West Ham because Cresswell was also on his agent’s books.

“I would have terminated my contract at Villa, same money at West Ham as I was on at Villa but a clause in the [loan] contract meant it was only permanent if I played 12 out of 12 games to trigger another year.

“I knew I was going to get shafted along the line. I was on my way down. But my agent was in the car in front of me and said ‘we need to pull over’. He said Leeds were willing to give me two and a half years.

“They were fifth in the Championship at the time and I was thinking, Leeds is a massive club. My agent convinces me to go to Leeds. I came home, thinking about it, two and a half years or six months.

“I was thinking security, I go to Leeds. But what I found out later, is that West Ham signed Aaron Cresswell afterwards. It was the same agency, my agent had done Cresswell. I rang him up and said ‘You’re done’.

The left-back played 67 times for the Whites and had a hand in eight goals during his 24 months at Elland Road. But it was during a time of upheaval at Elland Road in which Cellino oversaw a tumultuous period.

Cellino is renowned for his controversial tactics, whether that be constantly chopping and changing managers or bringing in a completely new squad in his first summer, making 14 new signings at Leeds.

The Italian arrived at Elland Road with the desire to cut the costs, to reduce the costs of the Leeds process and run the Yorkshire club in a way that was as cheap as possible but it affected the form on the pitch.

Even after selling Leeds to Andrea Radrizzani, Cellino’s name continues to be linked to Leeds with the Italian recently claiming that Radrizzani still owes him money following the sale of Leeds to Radrizzani.

Warnock recalled his first witnessing of Cellino after he bought Leeds in 2014, and his attempts to turn the business at Leeds into an operation as streamlined as he could starting with ice baths and jacuzzis.

Warnock tells a story to Under The Cosh of how the first time he was acquainted with Cellino was when the new owner walked in at Thorp Arch, and Warnock and other teammates in the jacuzzis and ice baths.

He remembers being blanked by the Italian, and then proceeding to tell his entourage that the pool, baths and other luxuries would be stripped back as Cellino looked to cut corners at every opportunity.

“Massimo Cellino, that was a s— show. The set-up at Thorp Arch was incredible, good training facilities. They had a swimming pool, ice baths, and jacuzzis. I remember being in the jacuzzi and he walked in.

“He blanked us, turned around and spoke to one of the guys showing him round and said, ‘this can go’ about the ice bath and jacuzzi. He said ‘that needs to be emptied’ about the pool. He cost-cut everything.

“I get a message, and I’m thinking this is a wind-up, can’t be true. You need to buy your own slips and socks. Next message, you need to bring in your own lunch. A packed lunch, and a breakfast if you want it.

“You can make it in the kitchen, there will be a toaster, kettle and a fridge. But he got rid of all the chefs. It was an absolute shambles,” Warnock revealed, about Cellino’s time in charge at Elland Road.