After all the speculation that he was about to get the boot, it’s come as something of a surprise to find that Steve Evans is still the head coach of Leeds United. But how much longer has he got?
This morning it looked as though Evans would be unlikely to survive the day, after Massimo Cellino had left the AMEX stadium at half time and then banned him from talking to the media at the end of the shambolic 4-0 defeat. Most of us assumed that ‘Il Presidente’s’ itchy finger was moving towards the button that fires the Elland Road ejector seat.
But this afternoon Cellino gave an exclusive interview to Sky Sports News HQ, (quite surprisingly after the dispute he’s had with that broadcaster this season). He told them he’s not going to sack Evans, even though he was sorry for the 1,522 Leeds fans who went to Brighton, and that he was embarrassed by the result. And he even promised to invest in the squad in the summer, and said that as things have been going wrong for Leeds for the last 12 years it will take time to put it right.
But Evans must know that he hasn’t got long to turn things around and placate our famously impatient owner. We thought a few weeks ago that we were in a safe mid-table position, but after a run of only one win in the last 11 league games we may yet be sucked into a relegation battle. We are still nine points above the bottom three and the remaining fixture list isn’t too onerous, but we will still need a few more wins to make sure we remain in the Championship.
Personally, I’m glad that Evans is being given a bit more time, even though I’ve been irritated by his increasingly ludicrous statements to the press. If he hadn’t been muzzled last night I’ve no doubt he would have boasted that we’d dominated the first 17 minutes and the second half. But if he had been sacked today I can’t see where Cellino would have found another manager mad enough to come and work for him.
I’ve seen a few fans saying that the team we had out last night was the worst Leeds team they had ever seen, but I think that’s a bit of an exaggeration. Having supported the club for over 40 years I’ve got quite a few poor sides to choose from, and in all that time I’d have to say the worst performances came from the end of Gary McAllister’s reign, when we were mid-table in League One and went out of the FA Cup to Histon.
Evans has promised to work with the defenders before the Bolton game, and if we can cut out the individual mistakes at the back he may yet have something to build on, though it’s time to give up on the idea that Wooton can play at full back. We enjoyed quite a bit of possession last night, but our lack of a cutting edge showed the limitations of playing Doukara as a lone striker.
If Evans can get the improvement we need out of the existing squad then he may yet survive till the summer, but does the unpredictable Cellino mean it when he says the head coach will get more time? Or will he be on his way if we lose to Bolton?