Brian McDermott
Departed 30 May 2014 Days under Cellino 52
Brian McDermott was in charge when Massimo Cellino’s ownership of the club was confirmed on appeal. He departed less than two months later by mutual consent after Leeds finished 15th in the Championship. In late January 2014 it had appeared that McDermott had been sacked on the say-so of Cellino, whose takeover was in train but not yet then sanctioned, but McDermott returned to work after not attending a match against Huddersfield. “I urge everyone to get behind the team and the new owner next season to get us back to where we need to be, fighting for trophies and competing at the top table of English and European football,” McDermott said as he departed for good.
Dave Hockaday
Departed 28 August 2014 Days under Cellino 70
Dave Hockaday, whose managerial experience was limited to a disappointing spell with non-league Forest Green Rovers, took over as head coach on a two-year contract. Six matches later he was gone, after a 2-1 defeat by League One Bradford City in the Capital One Cup – and the sacking almost came sooner. Cellino backed out of dismissing Hockaday a few days earlier following a 4-1 humbling by Watford. “This guy wants Leeds to be in the Champions League, he does,” Hockaday had said of the owner. “I believe over time that will happen.”
Darko Milanic
Departed 25 October 2014 Days under Cellino 32
The signs for Darko Milanic, who had been working in Austria for Sturm Graz, were not altogether positive. Cellino was asked why had chosen the Slovenian and said: “I don’t know. The coaches are like watermelons. You find out about them when you open them.” He didn’t like what he discovered. Six winless games later and a 2-1 home defeat by Wolves was the trigger for Milanic to be sacked. “I want to apologise to the supporters, they deserve better results,” the owner said.
Neil Redfearn
Departed 20 May 2015 Days under Cellino 200
Neil Redfearn took over as head coach on a rolling 12-month contract on 1 November after a third spell as caretaker. The former academy head saw out the season, guiding Leeds to 15th, but failed to make it to the start of the next campaign. In May, apparently without telling Redfearn, the club appointed Rösler to replace him. Redfearn was offered a role with the academy but quit less than two months later, saying the offer was not genuine and his position was untenable. Cellino had described him as “weak” and “a baby” shortly before wielding the axe. “He tried to play the fans against me to keep his place,” the Italian said. “Do you think that Neil Redfearn loves Leeds more than me?”
Uwe Rösler
Departed 19 October 2015 Days under Cellino 152
Cellino was said by the then Leeds executive director, Adam Pearson, to have needed only one meeting with Uwe Rösler to be convinced the German was the right man for the job. Rösler was appointed on 20 May and declared that a top-10 finish was his aim for the 2015-16 season. “Mr Cellino made it clear to me that he wants to move the club forward by putting the next building block in place,” he said. “The aim is to take this club back into the Premier League, but from where we are now that is unlikely to happen next season.” He got 12 games, won none at home and leaves with the club 18th. Last Thursday he told BBC Radio Leeds of Cellino: “I feel relaxed in his company.” In late September the owner had said to the Yorkshire Evening Post: “If someone gave me the chance to change, I would take this coach and these players because we have something good here. This guy, he is professional. I like him more than any coach I had here before.” But not enough to keep him for another month.
