This Saturday Leeds United play Nottingham Forest in the Championship as the race for the Premier League intensifies. There is just one point separating Leeds in 5th and Forest in 6th, so there couldn’t be more resting on the result. We spoke to Leeds manager Simon Grayson ahead of going head-to-head with Billy Davies at Elland Road…
How do you assess your season so far?
We have had a good season so far, we have probably over achieved slightly as it’s our first season in the championship after getting promotion from League One. But like ourselves, Norwich and Millwall have also acquitted themselves really well. We have given ourselves an opportunity to try and get into the playoffs at the very least. It’s been a good season we are very pleased with how we have played. We have had some ups and downs but that can be said for every club throughout the country.
Is promotion now a realistic target?
It is but there are another 12 teams who could say the same thing. There are teams who were favourites for the division who are around the play offs and then there are teams who are surprising people like ourselves and Norwich. We have got a great opportunity just like the other 10 or 12 teams to achieve an unbelievable target of getting to the premiership and hopefully we can do that.
What is it like to manage in a division that is as tight as the Championship?
It’s great there is never a dull moment; you can never think that you have cracked it because results have proven that over the last few weeks. With us getting beaten 3 nil at Swansea and then they go to Scunthorpe and get beat, that is the nature of it. It’s exciting and is going to be really close at the end of the season for a number of teams.
How much will gaining promotion last year help you with this season’s run in?
I think it will help us immensely but obviously we have got a few different players here now, but there is still a nucleus of the team that sampled that. I think last year we were under more pressure to get out of the division because we had to do it as a third attempt. This year there is not as much pressure but you have the pressure you put on yourselves to achieve that ultimate dream of getting into the Premiership and we enjoy it. If we don’t manage to achieve it this year hopefully somewhere down the line Leeds United will get to the premiership. The facilities, the fan base and the size of the club mean we deserve to be.
[ad_pod id=’unruly’ align=’right’]
You play Forest at the weekend, how similar are Leeds and Forest in terms of their history?
Well they have fantastic history and are big clubs who played in Europe for many years. Both have had some fantastic individuals, we had Don Revie here and Brian Clough at Forest so you can go back and draw from the experience of what has happened in the past, but its all about the present. My players here and Billy’s players at Forest are trying to achieve that target of promotion. They have had a good season and we know it is going to be a tough game for us but history and tradition won’t count for anything at the weekend it will all be about who gets the three points that matters.
What do you think about the job Billy Davies has done at the City Ground?
He has done a great job, he has proven over the years that he is capable of doing it. When he was at Preston he got the play off final and with Forest last year missed out to Blackpool in semi-finals. This year they have got some good payers and obviously striving to get into the Premiership like a number of other clubs are.
What is it like to follow in the footsteps of managers like Don Revie and Howard Wilkinson?
I am very proud. I am a Leeds United fan anyway from when I was growing up so to be the manager here is quiet surreal really. I started here as a young kid and worked under Howard Wilkinson, but the legacy that Don Revie left in the first place and then Howard with the academy and the group of players that came through speaks volumes for the football club. If you can be compared to them in the future then you know you will have done a decent job, but I have a lot of work to do in order to achieve that.
Does the history and size of the club increase the expectation from supporters?
I don’t think there is as much this year. Every club should have a huge amount of pressure on them because fans pay the money and expect their clubs to do well. There has to be a realistic ambition from the club and its supporters. This year we have had a realistic ambition of surviving in the Championship first and foremost. Finishing halfway would be nice but obviously now we are where we are there is a great opportunity to get promoted. Now the players should thrive on the pressure and enjoy it. Real pressure is at the other end of the scale where you don’t get paid very much. You’re playing in front of one or two thousand people and before you know it you might be out of the game. My players have a great opportunity playing for this football club.
How proud are you of being able to help the club regain its financial stability after their relegation to League 1?
Immensely proud, but first and foremost it’s about my professional job that I do and I want to be a successful manager. I did ok at Blackpool and got promotion under my belt and then got the job here and got promotion. I just want to do the best job I can no matter what club I am at but while I am at Leeds United, for what I hope will be many more years to come I want to try and achieve something. It will be extra special if I can get this club back into the Premiership.
Visit the Dugout www.yahoo.co.uk/dugout for new interviews every week with England’s top football managers
[divider]