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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
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3Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd26166436171952
4Sunderland26148439221750
5Middlesbrough26118743321141
6West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom26913432211140
7Blackburn RoversBlackburn2511682823539
8Bristol City2691073330337
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10Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds2610793840-237
11Norwich CityNorwich269984337636
12Swansea CitySwansea2697103030034
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15Coventry CityCoventry2678113437-329
16Queens Park RangersQPR2561182733-629
17Oxford UnitedOxford Utd2577112840-1228
18Derby CountyDerby2676133135-427
19Stoke CityStoke2669112432-827
20Luton TownLuton2574142642-1625
21Portsmouth2458113041-1123
22Hull City2658132536-1123
23Cardiff CityCardiff2558122540-1523
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