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Matthew Hobkinson

Chris Armas' exile under Javi Gracia questioned by former Leeds United player

Former Leeds United goalkeeper Paul Robinson has questioned Leeds United's decision to hire Chris Armas so close to Jesse Marsch's sacking after Javi Gracia confirmed that he was not part of his backroom staff set up.

Armas was appointed as Leeds and Marsch's new assistant head coach at the club at the end of January. Less than two weeks later, the Whites parted ways with their American head coach as Michael Skubala, Paco Gallardo and Armas were given temporary charge of the first team.

Skubala has been kept on as a first team coach under Gracia while Gallardo now leads the under-21s in their title charge this season. But speaking at a press conference ahead of the 2-2 draw with Brighton last weekend, Gracia confirmed that Armas was no longer part of his coaching set up.

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"He's not part of my staff," Gracia said. "He's not here. It's something the club can maybe explain better."

And Robinson has now had his say on Armas' exile from Gracia's backroom staff, as he struggled to get his head around the coach's appointment so soon before Marsch was fired.

“I just thought it was a really strange situation because if you had intentions of sacking the manager in the near future why would you allow him to bring in a coach that was close to him into such a high-level position,” Robinson told MOT Leeds News.

“There was clearly going to be no Jesse continuation, if they were sacking him then his coaching staff weren’t going to be staying on, so why allow him to bring in such a high-profile assistant?

“It’s just a really strange situation and it just adds to the confusion.”

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