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Leeds United boss Paul Heckingbottom: 'Sack speculation surprised everyone'

Heckingbottom surprised by sacking story
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Leeds United manager Paul Heckingbottom rubbishes reports that he is set to be sacked by the Championship side.

Leeds United boss Paul Heckingbottom has rubbished rumours that he is set to leave the club.

The Whites sit 14th in the Championship table, having won just once in their last eight league games.

Heckingbottom's side are only three points nearer to the playoffs than they are to relegation, but the former Barnsley coach is adamant that his job is not in jeopardy.

"Everything has carried on as normal," Heckingbottom said in a press conference.

"In terms of meetings, planning, and discussions for next season, nothing has changed. The speculation yesterday surprised everyone at the club, not just me. As far as we're concerned, it's business as usual. At the minute we're just putting halves of football together. That's a problem. We've seen big moments in games become catalysts for us losing games, which is another problem.

"We need to put poor decisions by officials or injuries we might sustain to the back of our minds. We can't let those kinds of situations affect us. We're not where we want to be, so things have to change. We have to do a lot of good work to improve the squad. We want it slimmer, less in numbers and higher in quality."

Leeds travel to face Aston Villa on Friday as the hosts look to extend their gap from fifth-placed Derby County.

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Barnsley boss Paul Heckingbottom pictured in late 2017
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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Leeds UnitedLeeds382311476255180
2Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd38257653282580
3Burnley382115252114178
4Sunderland381912755371869
5Coventry CityCoventry38178135548759
6West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom381318748341457
7Bristol City38141594941857
8Middlesbrough38159145748954
9Blackburn RoversBlackburn38157164240252
10Watford38157164751-452
11Millwall381312133739-251
12Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds38149155359-651
13Norwich CityNorwich381213136054649
14Preston North EndPreston381017113944-547
15Queens Park RangersQPR381112154450-645
16Swansea CitySwansea38128183849-1144
17Portsmouth38119184661-1542
18Oxford UnitedOxford Utd381012163955-1642
19Hull City381011173947-841
20Stoke CityStoke38912173751-1439
21Cardiff CityCardiff38912174262-2039
22Derby CountyDerby38108204051-1138
23Luton TownLuton3898213460-2635
24Plymouth ArgylePlymouth38712194077-3733


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