Exclusive: Back blames lack of Headingley money as he resigns from Leeds

Neil Back had become so frustrated by Leeds Carnegie’s financial constraints that he would have seriously considered walking away from the club even if they had achieved the great escape.

The repayment of a £2m debt may necessitate an appointment from within of a successor to the World Cup winner who yesterday called time on his three years as head coach of the Yorkshire club.

It is that perilous financial predicament that has hastened Back’s departure after his bid to claw Leeds back from an 11-point deficit came up agonisingly short.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Leeds may still be a top-flight club next season if Cornish Pirates shock Worcester in the Championship play-off final, but with debt repayments to begin on July 1, another year of battling the drop beckons even if they are reprieved from relegation.

Leeds had a rugby budget of £4.5m for this season, of which £3m was spent on players. That figure is dwarfed by the £4m the rest of the Premiership spend on players.

Back had become increasingly frustrated at the club’s inability to attract external investment and the knock-on effect that had on the resources at his disposal.

They came within a try of earning two points at Northampton last Saturday and overhauling Newcastle, but even had they done so, Back felt he had taken the club as far as he could and so activated a clause in the two-year contract he signed last year to resign.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“When I take a job I like to see it through but the current position of the club, the finances, don’t allow me to do that,” he said.

“Our total spend this year was £4.5m on absolutely everything. When you have rivals who are spending that on players alone, it makes it very hard to compete.

“Money doesn’t guarantee success but no club has been successful without consistently spending the salary cap.

“This is the third time Leeds have been relegated. Exeter (finished 8th) were backed this season and look at what a difference that makes.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“If that debt of £2m is paid off over the next two years then what would that leave for a playing budget?”

The Leeds board will meet today to begin the process of finding Back’s successor and planning for next season as a Championship club, regardless of the outcome of the Worcester-Pirates game.

Chief executive Gary Hetherington is confident Leeds remain an attractive proposition for potential applicants and has stressed that the board will not be rushed into an appointment.

The club’s finances may mean a promotion from within is the only viable option, with Simon Middleton having already progressed up the ladder after the departure of Andy Key. Key’s dismissal in February was effectively a redundancy of the director of rugby role and a move that took Back completely by surprise.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It means Leeds will begin next season with only a head coach. Defence coach Middleton has occupied a number of roles in his 14 years at the club and would fit that bill, although a backroom staff of 21 – large to the outside world but below average when compared with some Premiership clubs – is expected to be given a serious shake up over the next few days.

External candidates are the former Doncaster rugby director Lynn Howells, ex Castleford rugby league player and union coach Graham Steadman and Phil Greening of London Welsh.

Hetherington said: “We now need to think seriously what type of coach do we need to bring in. Is it an experienced one, is it someone who is going to be part and parcel of our structure going forward who will grow with the team?

“We have got a blank sheet of paper, but Leeds is recognised as one of the top clubs in the country, and despite relegation, we have got a terrific reputation throughout and we will have a lot of interest. It’s an important decision, we don’t want to rush it, we want to get it right.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Back will not be out of the game for too long, given his reputation as a player and the fact that his credentials have not been harmed by his three-year apprenticeship at Headingley.

Wasps are in the market for a new director of rugby while there may be a head coach’s role under his old Lions mentor Sir Ian McGeechan at Bath.

Back said: “I have not left to go anywhere. I have thrived on the challenge over the past three years, however taking all things into account, I feel I have taken Leeds as far as I can.

“I committed my heart and soul to the club, I don’t feel a failure, I seriously hoped we’d win at the weekend, I love coaching and I’m passionate about it.

“I’m not going to rush into my next move, I’ve had three years and now I need to take stock and have a rest.”