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O'Neill is favourite to replace O'Leary

Phil Shaw
Friday 28 June 2002 00:00 BST
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After a winter of discontent and a spring of dashed promise, Leeds United kick-started a summer of upheaval by sacking the seemingly impregnable David O'Leary yesterday. The action paved the way for the possible arrival of the man they wanted before appointing O'Leary – the Celtic manager, Martin O'Neill.

As O'Leary, 44, prepared last night to leave for a family holiday in Sardinia, he claimed to "already know" the identity of his successor. Sources close to the Elland Road club expect their target to be O'Neill, whose family have not settled in Scotland despite the former Leicester manager's success in leading Celtic to back-to-back championships.

In autumn 1998, after George Graham's defection to Tottenham, Leeds courted O'Neill. The Northern Irishman was keen to reciprocate but agreed to stay with Leicester after they refused Peter Ridsdale, the Leeds chairman, permission to speak to him.

O'Neill may be deterred by the fact that O'Leary was expected to generate a profit of £15m this summer and had argued that selling his captain, Rio Ferdinand, to Manchester United would be tantamount to handing the title to Old Trafford. However, he might also view the Yorkshire club's squad and see in it the potential to achieve more than last season's fifth place.

Celtic would not let O'Neill leave without a struggle, although they may see Mick McCarthy, the Republic of Ireland manager, as a ready-made replacement following his successful World Cup campaign.

Other candidates may include Alan Curbishley, the Charlton manager; Peter Taylor, who succeeded O'Neill at Leicester and has since enjoyed success with Brighton; and Guus Hiddink, the Dutchman whose exploits in charge of South Korea have started a scramble for his services which PSV Eindhoven are confident of winning.

An emotional O'Leary said last night: "I think I did a good job. I went in this morning and he [Ridsdale] said I was sacked – simple as that. The chairman said: 'Thanks for everything'. I wish them all the best, whoever gets the job. I think I know who has got the job. It's already in place."

Leeds originally issued a statement saying that O'Leary had left "by mutual consent" because of "off-field pressures", but later admitted they had dismissed him. While his stance over Ferdinand's possible £35m move was at first thought to be behind the decision, it appears more likely that Ridsdale acted in the face of growing antipathy towards him among the players.

Their hostility had its roots in the timing and content of O'Leary's book, Leeds United On Trial, at the start of this year. In it he vented his wrath on the two players who stood trial following an alleged assault on an Asian student, Sarfraz Najeib.

Some players are understood to have felt the manager had cashed in on the trial for personal gain. There was further unease when he used his column in a Sunday tabloid newspaper to criticise the Leeds defender Danny Mills before he played for England in the World Cup.

Peter Lorimer, a player during the Don Revie era, claimed O'Leary had "lost the dressing-room". But last night, Ferdinand, the most expensive of O'Leary's signings at £18m, said: "It's a massive shock, and I'm disappointed to see this happen. He paid a lot of money to sign me, and has been brilliant for me, first-class."

Lorimer, who now covers Leeds as a local-radio pundit, added: "David was successful to a certain degree. He brought in some good players and started well. Everything was going well when they got to the Champions' League semi-finals in 2001, but he failed to get them back there despite investing very heavily."

Norman Hunter, another Revie stalwart, felt O'Leary was unfortunate to have been at Leeds during a turbulent time. "He has had a lot thrown at him," he said, citing the Jonathan Woodgate-Lee Bowyer trial and the killing of two Leeds fans in Istanbul two years ago.

O'Leary's reign was also memorable for more positive reasons. After their stagnation under Howard Wilkinson, who had led the club to the championship in 1992, and the unexciting return to respectability during Graham's two-year interregnum, he introduced a fast, attacking style in which big-money buys, invariably young players, were prominent. Attendances nudged Elland Road's 40,000 capacity for the first time since Revie's rule.

Leeds finished third in his first full season, following up with a run to the last four of the Champions' League. Yet despite further expenditure, last season turned into one of under-achievement as Leeds fell from first to fifth and out of all the cups in a matter of months.

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