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Leeds: Phil Hay believes Victor Orta has taken a huge risk over the Whites’ Premier League future
Phil Hay believes there will be trouble at Leeds United if Michael Skubala fails to keep them in the Premier League.
The Lowdown: Leeds have an uncertain future
The future of Leeds United is very muddy both on and off the pitch with results and form seeing them sit just one point and place above the bottom three while the 49ers continue to stall in their bid to buy the club from Andre Radrizzani.
Leeds’ next two weeks could well go a long way to defining Leeds’ future at least on the pitch as they face Everton before welcoming Southampton to Elland Road next weekend, win those games and they could prepare for life in the top flight next season, lose them and the heat will start to crank up.
Orta has made the bold decision to ditch his search for a Jesse Marsch successor and instead put the future of Leeds United in the hands of Skubala who has never been a permanent first-team manager in his career.
The Latest: Pressure is on Skubala to succeed
Hay has insisted on The Phil Hay Show that if Skubala fails in keeping Leeds in the division then the club will be in trouble following this managerial fiasco will be in deep trouble.
He said: (19:35) “In the circumstances and considering what the mood was like in reaction to that [Schreuder being at Leeds] I do think Skubala makes far more sense.
“That said, it’s a huge risk this and it’s a huge risk to be in this situation with a caretaker team when you’re 17th I don’t think it’s the scenario Leeds wanted at all and I don’t think it’s what they envisaged at the beginning of last week when they sacked Jesse Marsch.
“It has to work because if it doesn’t then they’re going to be in deep trouble and if it doesn’t then there’s a high likelihood that they’ll go down.”
The Verdict: Orta taking a major gamble
If Skubala worked his magic and manages to turn Leeds’ fortunes around and keep them in the division then it will have been an inspired decision from Orta to appoint him on a temporary basis before going for someone such as Andoni Iraola or Arne Slot in the summer.
However, if the inexperienced coach and his team fail to keep them up then Orta will indeed end the season with egg on his face and have to face up to numerous questions about why they sacked Marsch without having someone primed and ready to jump into the dugout.
Only time will tell if this has been the correct decision from Orta and Leeds, however, things aren’t in their favour just given that Skubala is up against more experienced coaches such as Sean Dyche, Julen Lopetegui and David Moyes to escape away from a relegation scrap.
