Richard Sutcliffe: Future of Heckingbottom at Leeds United needs resolving ... and fast

That is just how it is at a club whose pedigree demands much more than the largely underwhelming fare that Elland Road has had to endure in recent years.

Even by United’s standards, however, this close season feels huge after the manner in which the 2017-18 campaign not so much fizzled out as ground to a shuddering halt amid much rancour and resentment in the stands.

Victor Orta, the club’s director of football, came in for the most stinging criticism after overseeing a recruitment drive that was plainly not suited to the demands of the Championship.

The Spaniard, though, was far from alone in feeling the wrath of supporters with Andrea Radrizzani and Paul Heckingbottom also very much in the firing line.

Whether the fallout from the sorry end to last season stretches to the actual firing of Heckingbottom remains to be seen. As of Tuesday night, he was still on holiday and still in a job.

Dialogue over possible transfers has also been maintained throughout.

Nevertheless, speculation over Heckingbottom’s future refuses to go away with Claudio Ranieri and Michael Laudrup among those linked with a possible switch to the West Riding over the past 48 hours.

If there is to be a managerial parting of the ways at Leeds for a fifth consecutive summer, an inability to agree on the best way forward in terms of recruitment and – perhaps, most tellingly – which players should be moved on seems the most likely cause.

Everyone has to be on the same page or there is a huge risk of repeating last season’s clash of cultures, caused by Heckingbottom inheriting a squad that had been built to suit Thomas Christiansen’s style of play.

Samuel Saiz and, to a lesser extent, Ezgjan Alioski had made an early impact under the Dane but both looked lost from February onwards with an inability – or, perhaps, unwillingness – to track back plainly at odds with how Heckingbottom’s sides usually operate.

Pierre-Michel Lassoga was another wholly unsuited to the fresh demands being made of him and, as results stubbornly refused to improve, it was easy to feel sympathy for Heckingbottom over the tough hand he had been dealt.

For that reason alone, it is to be hoped someone who did such a fine job at Oakwell is given the chance to prove himself worthy of the £500,000 compensation Leeds paid Barnsley for his services just 113 days ago.

Regardless of how the head coach’s future plays out, Leeds’s early moves in the transfer market suggest the recruitment lessons of 12 months ago have been heeded. Not only is the emphasis understood to be on players with a proven pedigree in this country but quality is being prioritised over quantity, unlike the summer of 2017 when 14 largely uninspiring signings were made.

Abel Hernandez, the one-time Hull City record capture, would improve any Championship attack. His availability on a free transfer makes the deal possible in financial terms despite the Uruguayan being on a reputed £40,000 per week at the KCOM Stadium in the Championship.

Leeds, coffers suitably swelled by the investment deal with the San Francisco 49ers, also want to strengthen at left back, central defence – Kyle Bartley remains first choice, despite Swansea’s relegation complicating matters due to Alfie Mawson being certain to leave – and possibly goalkeeper. The culling of a bloated squad is also required if the youth promoted in the final few weeks of last term is to blossom.

Above all, however, Heckingbottom’s future needs resolving and fast ahead of what is shaping up to once again be a very big summer at Elland Road.