Leeds sack Javi Gracia, appoint Sam Allardyce on short-term deal

Leeds sack Javi Gracia, appoint Sam Allardyce on short-term deal

Ifeanyi Ufomadu 11:09 - 03.05.2023

Relegation-threatened Leeds United have sacked manager Javi Gracia and appointed Sam Allardyce as his successor.

Sam Allardyce is in line for a sensational return to management after almost two years out of business as Leeds United appoint the former West Brom manager on short-term deal.

Allardyce takes over Leeds United job

According to a statement released by the club, Allardyce will take over the Leeds job with immediate effect, after confirming the departure of Javi Gracia who leaves the club after overseeing a dismal run of results with Leeds now staring down the barrel of relegation.

Allardyce, 68, has been out of management for almost two years since his last role at West Bromwich Albion.

More on the situation

Gracia was appointed in February as successor to Jesse Marsch on an initial deal to the end of the season, but Leeds have actually gotten worse under his stewardship and the weekend's disappointing showing at the vitality stadium has forced the club to act.

var widgetLoaderConfig = widgetLoaderConfig || { CDN_URL: 'https://widgets.sportal365.com', APP_LINK: 'desktop', API_URL: 'https://africa.football.api.sportal365.com/', API_KEY: '2f852b4de2f3a5cf3188e74b33087bb4:2c18422f8e826a7d11aeed52edb2449e', LANG: 'en', REQUEST_INTERVAL: 30, ENABLE_BET_SLIP: false, AUTHOR: false, THEME: "light", TOURNAMENT_ORDER: "pulse_nigeria", LINK_OPTIONS_V2: { 'player' : { 'url': '/football/player/{playerId}' }, 'team' : { 'url': '/football/{teamId}' }, 'tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}' }, 'match': { 'url' : '/football/match/{matchId}', 'sort': { 'criteria': 'alphabetically', 'direction': 'asc' } }, 'configuration': { 'newWindow': false }, 'standings_tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}/standings' } } }; if (!document.querySelector('script[src="https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js"]')) { window.setTimeout(function () { let scriptCss = document.createElement('link'); scriptCss.href = 'https://www.pulsesports.co.ke/css/sport-widgets.css?v=1668785443'; scriptCss.rel = 'stylesheet'; scriptCss.type = 'text/css'; document.body.appendChild(scriptCss); let scriptTag = document.createElement('script'); scriptTag.src = 'https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js'; scriptTag.defer = true; scriptTag.onload = function () { window.setTimeout(function () { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }, 200); }; document.head.appendChild(scriptTag); }, 0); } else { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }

Director of Football Victor Orta is also set to leave the club as the battle for survival reaches its most crucial phase.

Orta was appointed in 2017 and was responsible for the hiring of former head coach Marcelo Bielsa, who led them to promotion to the Premier League after a 16-year absence.

Related content