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Warnock will give Leeds the lift they need
As announced earlier this morning, Neil Warnock has taken the helm at Leeds United in what is likely to be his final job as a manager. He has a record of promotions that is second to none, and having made no secret of his desire to gain one more to add to his collection, his decision to pick Leeds is a bold, but ultimately unsurprising one. Much will be proclaimed of the match made in Hell, the inevitable Bates vs Warnock duels, but this is exactly what Leeds United need now more than ever.
Warnock will divide opinion, but if his history is anything to go by, will please the majority. He won’t have the budget he enjoyed at QPR and Sheffield United in particular, but his man-management and sheer passion are his true strengths. He may yet get the best out of a faltering Luciano Becchio, turn a leaky defence into an assured one and allow Robert Snodgrass the freedom of expression he allowed Adel Taarabt.
It is the fans, though, that he is likely to inspire. There may be a section of fans that may never warm to the man who proclaimed he could not stop laughing at Leeds’ fall from the Championship. Indeed, his apparent dislike of Leeds may yet prove to have been mere enviable respect for a club he admits “should be in the Premier League”. But this siege mentality is one that the fans and Warnock will thrive on.
It is a gamble, however. Warnock is placing his fantastic record of promotions on the line with a club that has a fanbase at boiling point with the board and a team that was, until now potentially, going through the motions, at best. He must revitalise the squad and unite the fans behind a faltering promotion push if he is to break that famous record of promotions. A play-off push this season is not unthinkable, and Warnock must rapidly install that idea into the heads of players and fans alike.
For Leeds United fans, who deserve to be given a glimmer of hope on a season that looked dangerously close to fizzling out, this may be the spark it needed. For Neil Warnock, however, it will be a mammoth task that will almost certainly provide ups and downs. But hey, since when was it ever any different at Elland Road?
Posted by Leeds United fan Thomas Banks
Follow Thomas on Twitter @thomaswbanks
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