McDermott leaves Leeds United

In a summer so far full of departures possibly the most inevitable of them all was announced at half eleven last night. Brian McDermott and Leeds United announced their mutual decision for the Leeds United manager to depart from his position.

There had been little official news on Brian McDermotts position since the end of the season with Cellino ‘concentrating on financial matters’ but the fact that he was not involved in the putting together of the released and retained list was a sign that he may have been heading out of the door. In an official statement on the club website owner Massimo Cellino said;

"Brian is a great manager and a great guy. He has been unfortunate to work in such difficult circumstances. He has been a gentleman to deal with in our discussions and has been very understanding of my wish to implement a new structure. His main concern and priority at all times has been the welfare and protection of Leeds United. I wish him well for the future. His honest efforts to guide us to the safety of mid-table when faced with many difficulties is appreciated by us all. He will always be a friend of Leeds United."

McDermotts future at the club has been doubt ever since Cellino came onto the scene. After his attempt to sack McDermott back in February it was surely inevitable that they would inevitably part for good. Cellino is a man who knows his own mind and wants things at his club run his way, he has always expressed a preference for having a coach not a manager. As he said in an interview with Calendar News “I want to be the captain, the pilot. I want to be responsible for this plane”. McDermott despite the difficult circumstances has always been a man of dignity and that is no different in his departure. In the club statement he said;

"It has been my great privilege to manage this great club and I have enjoyed the challenge immensely. However it is clear that Massimo wishes to implement a new structure. To my players for their efforts I say a big thank-you. To all the staff I am especially grateful for their support. Finally to the incredible force that is the Leeds United supporters, I offer my heartfelt thanks. Your support of me and the players was always an inspiration. I wish Massimo and all my friends at Elland Road every success in the future."

After a good start to last season Leeds looked like a good bet for the play-offs at Christmas but a poor second half to the season with some truly terrible performances saw us slip down the table precariously close to a relegation battle. McDermott finishes his career as Leeds United manager with a win percentage only marginally better than Neil Warnocks but performances such as Rochdale away in the FA Cup and Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough will long be engrained on the memories of Leeds United fans. On results alone McDermott may have been out of a job much sooner but the turmoil and disarray at the club surrounding the takeover bought him extra time.

Cellino will now start the process of finding a new coach and the task of rebuilding the team. This may be difficult though with the winding-up petition from Sport Capital to be heard in court on the 9th June. Until then the clubs main bank account is frozen preventing them under FA rules from making football related payments meaning that the players were once again not paid on time. Cellino vows to fight the petition and states the clubs bank account is healthy. Hopefully once the hearing is out of the way we can start to build for next season and once again talk about footballing issues not off the field issues.