Simon Grayson has admitted that the chance to manage Leeds was one that he could not turn down.
Elland Road ambition impressed former Blackpool boss
New Leeds United manager Simon Grayson has admitted that the opportunity to take charge at Elland Road was one that he could not turn down.
Grayson handed in his resignation to Championship side Blackpool on Tuesday morning and was then confirmed as the new man in the hot-seat in West Yorkshire by the League One club.
The move has been met with anger by Blackpool, who rejected Grayson's resignation and are now considering legal action against the former boss and his new employers.
The 39-year-old, who steps into the void created by Gary McAllister's departure on Sunday, started out as a player with the Whites before joining Leicester in a well-travelled 17-year playing career.
Grayson was at the helm of the Seasiders for two-and-a-half years and guided them into the Championship via the League One play-offs in 2007 and then went on to consolidate their position in England's second tier.
He inherits a Leeds squad short on confidence after a run of five consecutive defeats in all competitions, which saw them crash out of the FA Cup to non-league Histon and slip to ninth in the table.
Ambition
Grayson told
LUTV: "It's been a whirlwind time recently. When the opportunity came to come to Leeds United, I wanted to be here as quickly as possible.
"It's a massive club, it's a club that's close to my heart having been here as a player and supporting the club.
"Ultimately the ambition of the club and the size of the club has been the major attraction for me.
"I've enjoyed my time at Blackpool, I had a fantastic period of time there as a player and a manager. I had a great rapport with the fans, the chairman and the board.
"I wouldn't have left to go to many other clubs and I certainly wouldn't have dropped down a division to go to any other club than Leeds United.
"I do look at it as the next stage in my managerial career."
