Redfearn urged to stake firm claim for Leeds job

Chairman Ken Bates has revealed reserve team manager Redfearn will take the reins for at least the next three games as United continue to sift through a host of applications.

It means Redfearn, whose first game in charge ended in a 3-0 win over nine-man Bristol City, has a huge opportunity to stake his claim, especially with that trio of matches including meetings with two of the bottom three in the Championship.

John Carver was in a similar position to Redfearn in September, 2006, when handed temporary control by Bates following the sacking of Kevin Blackwell.

Like Redfearn, Carver was told his own hopes of landing the job permanently would be decided by results but, after an encouraging 3-2 win over Birmingham City, a run of four straight defeats led to his departure and Leeds instead turned to Dennis Wise.

“The chairman told me that if I got the results then the job was mine,” Carver, now Alan Pardew’s assistant at Newcastle United, told the Yorkshire Post.

“So, if Neil has been told the same then he definitely has a chance.

“My problem was that results just weren’t good enough. The chairman and his missus (Suzannah) were fantastic to me.

“I flew out to Monaco with my wife for two or three days and we spent the entire time discussing plans for the future.

“It was a great opportunity for me but one I sadly wasn’t able to take. I have no-one to blame for that but myself.

“If I had got the results, I would have got the job. Ken told me that.

“Eventually, though, I rang Ken and said he had to get a permanent manager in for the sake of the club.

“Things weren’t working out and losing (5-1) to Luton was the last straw.”

After starting his brief reign with the win over Birmingham, Carver’s next game saw United crash to a 4-2 defeat at West Bromwich Albion after David Healy had missed a penalty when the score was goalless.

The international break was then followed by back-to-back home defeats against Stoke City and Leicester City before the thrashing at Luton brought an end to Carver’s two-year stint at Elland Road.

Looking back on where it all went wrong, Carver said: “I should have been stronger.

“There are a lot of things I would have done differently if I had my time again.

“It was my first real opportunity at management. I had been caretaker for one game at Newcastle but this was totally different.

“I should have stamped my authority more and, if I have any advice for Neil now, it is to make every decision yourself and try to make your own mark on the club.

“I didn’t do that straight away and I could see some players were thinking, ‘Bates will bring his own manager in no matter what we do for JC’.

“If I had my time again, I would have handled the international break we had (between the defeats to West Brom and Stoke) differently.

“The plan was to take the players away to Portugal. Gwyn (Williams, United’s technical director) said it was a good idea but some of the senior players didn’t want to go. They wanted to spend the time with their families.

“I should have said we were going and that was that. Only one person should be making the decision and that is the manager.”

Carver, who also had a stint in temporary charge of Sheffield United last year, added: “Neil is slightly different because I had worked with the first team under Kevin Blackwell for a couple of seasons.

“It meant the players knew me as a coach.

“Neil has spent his time with the reserves and development squad, and that could help as there has been a distance between them.

“It is not impossible he can get the job.

“We have seen in recent years a lot of clubs going down the route of appointing from within.

“First of all, it is a cheaper option and, secondly, there is not as much disruption, which is very important at this stage of the season.”

Bates, meanwhile, has revealed handing Redfearn a minimum extra three games in charge will allow United to sift through the applications that have flooded in since Grayson’s departure last week.

He said: “As you can imagine we have been inundated with applications from the cheeky to the outlandish.

“We have had (Sven Goran) Eriksson, would you believe? But he won’t be coming.

“We are not going to make any hurried appointment because the next appointment is the big one. Not necessarily big in name but big in significance for the future of Leeds United.”

On Redfearn’s prospects of getting the job full-time, Bates added: “After the impressive start Neil has made, he will be given his chance to demonstrate his abilities while we consider the matter.

“We are in no hurry.”

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