‘I feel the stress’: Javi Gracia goes deep as he plots Leeds survival mission

Almost two months have passed since Javi Gracia pulled on a Leeds tracksuit for the first time, but he remains very much a stranger in his adopted city.

“I don’t have time for anything away from football,” says the interim manager tasked with saving Leeds from relegation. “I spend 12 hours a day at the training ground and, apart from speaking to my family on the phone and watching football on television, the rest is dinner and sleep at the hotel. I don’t relax. I live stressed; I feel the stress inside.”

It all explains why Roy Hodgson would seem a much better qualified West Yorkshire guide than Gracia. As the Spaniard devoted last Sunday morning to honing his latest gameplan, Crystal Palace’s own interim manager was pictured filling the hours before kick-off at Elland Road by exploring Leeds city centre.

Shortly after 4pm Hodgson celebrated Palace’s brilliantly choreographed 5-1 win with typical modesty. “All we coaches are is orchestra leaders,” said the 75-year-old. “We know the music, we know all the notes, but the players have to play the tune.”

Unfortunately for Gracia, a damaging second half when Leeds conceded four goals involved them resembling the occupants of an orchestra pit experiencing a collective freeze. No amount of burning the midnight oil on the 52-year-old’s part could have prevented an apparent psychological collapse. “We looked like a boxer who had received a punch,” said the former Watford, Valencia and Al Sadd manager. “It was hard to manage.”

With eight league games remaining – the first against Liverpool at Elland Road on Monday night – and Leeds deep in relegation trouble, Jesse Marsch’s successor knows he occupies fragile territory.

Before Palace’s disruptive visit Leeds had taken 10 points