Javi Gracia has defended his record whilst in charge at Leeds United after being replaced by Sam Allardyce.
The Spaniard was sacked after the Lily Whites' 4-1 defeat at Bournemouth on Sunday left them hovering above the Premier League relegation zone. Leeds are level on points with Nottingham Forest but sit one place higher in the table on goal difference.
Gracia's impact was initially positive as he guided Leeds to wins against Southampton, Wolves and the Reds in his first six league games. But things went drastically wrong after losing 5-1 at home to Crystal Palace on April 9, as Leeds have picked up just a single point in their subsequent four fixtures since.
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And now for the first time, Gracia has opened up on his time at the club and defended the work he did during his short tenure at Elland Road.
"We got 11 points in my 11 matches," he told the Athletic. "Everton got eight points, Leicester and Southampton took six and (Nottingham) Forest five. So everyone else down there got fewer.
"We are in a moment during the last few games that were not what we hoped, but, from another point of view, other teams are doing worse than us. So you can be optimistic in some way.
"My evaluation of my work is that we could have done things better, of course, but we arrived in a difficult position with 10 matches without a win.
"We left the team outside the drop zone. So this is the evaluation that is most crude and real, about points and the place in the table. It is the most objective verdict."
What do you make of what Gracia has said? Have your say in the comments section
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