A defeat for Leeds United at Nottingham Forest on Sunday was one too many for Jesse Marsch, with the manager sacked by the Whites ahead of their midweek meeting with Manchester United.
Marsch lasted just under a year before his dismissal, and leaves with the team one place above the Premier League's relegation places. There had been suggestions former Man Utd coach Chris Armas might lead out the visitors as the hunt for a permanent manager begins, after surviving the cull of the former manager and his coaching staff, but it now appears Michael Skubala will be in charge.
Skubala will be an unfamiliar name to a number of Premier League followers. With that in mind, Mirror Football has a bit more information about a man whose career path has been a curious one.
Leeds confirmed on Monday that Skubala, Armas and Paco Gallardo will be in the dugout on Wednesday, with Skubala taking media duties ahead of the game. It is quite the rise for the coach, who only joined the club over the summer.
The 40-year-old arrived after holding a number of roles with the English FA. Perhaps most notably, he was head coach of the England futsal team.
Unlike in men's football, where there has been success at a number of age-group levels and a Euro 2020 final appearance for the senior side, England's men's futsal team are far from powerhouses. They were forced to play a preliminary qualifying round for the 2021 World Cup, but Skubala - in his final campaign in charge - took them through that before finishing bottom of their group.
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Skubala stayed with the FA after leaving his futsal position, working as an assistant manager of the under-18 side - mostly during the tenure of former Arsenal defender Ryan Garry. He left in July 2022, though, beating off fierce competition to land the job as head coach of Leeds' under-21 side.
“The role of head coach within the Under-21 side is clearly an important role at a club that sees so many players progress into the first team," Leeds director of football Victor Orta said of the appointment. “We interviewed candidates from across the world over the course of the summer, but the work Michael has done within the FA, alongside his ambitious plans for the group, gave him the edge and we are really pleased to welcome him to the club.”
Skubala has taken charge of 15 games since his appointment, overseeing eight wins from 12 games in Premier League 2 as Leeds chase promotion. His team was also a penalty shoot-out away from progressing in the Papa John's Trophy after one win, one defeat and one draw in the group stage.
Wednesday's task will be considerably more difficult, though. Leeds' first team are winless in their last seven, drawing three and losing four, and are up against a Man Utd team whose last home league defeat came on the opening weekend of the season.
