Leeds: These ‘garbage’ internet rumours - Eddie Gray

Writing in his Yorkshire Evening Post column, Gray says the rumours are “garbage”. He also says there were few surprises on last week’s retained list - though he queries how big a hand manager Brian McDermott had in drawing it up.

Gray says: “I don’t know what’s happening with my own situation at the club and I will probably go and have a word with the president. But what annoys me is that you get someone, and I don’t know who it was, writing on some websites that I was on a hundred grand a year.

“I’m not talking about any figures but a hundred grand a year is what someone said and that’s garbage. I just don’t know where these people get their information from.

Gray adds: “A lot of the players we have released were quite expected. They were boys who were out of contract or who had moved on to other clubs on loan and there had to be some sort of cull of the playing staff to make space to bring good players in. You can’t keep bringing players in without players moving on.

“Of the departures, El Hadji-Diouf was a bit of an enigma. Obviously, he was a top-class player but towards the end of his time at Leeds it never really happened. He’s probably better off moving on to pastures new whatever that might be for him. I also thought Michael Brown had a good finish to the season but the club have got to be realistic and look at the future. And you can only say about the players leaving the football club that you wish them all the best.”

Gray goes on: “The interesting thing with the retained list is I don’t know myself how much influence that Brian McDermott had with it. You get the impression that Massimo Cellino is making all the decisions but Brian has not come out and said anything yet and the president has not really said anything about the long-term situation of the football club. It’s a difficult time for the club as there still seems to be some big, huge, financial restraints and we need to get that sorted out and then we can move forward. There’s a lot of people at the football club, including myself, where you just don’t know what’s going to happen next season.”