Birch urges fans to embrace Bates

Former Leeds chairman and chief executive Trevor Birch believes fans should greet Ken Bates’ takeover as “good news”.

Birch has worked with Bates in the past, serving as chief executive at Chelsea when Bates was chairman there and was involved in the negotiations which led to Roman Abramovich’s takeover of the London club in July 2003.

He then took on the huge challenge of trying to manage Leeds’ debts, and arranged standstill agreements with the club’s major creditors before the consortium led by Gerald Krasner took over last March.

Birch believes Bates, who has bought a £10m (€14.4m) controlling stake in the club, can breathe life back into Leeds.

He told the Yorkshire Post: “Ken’s involvement is good news for Leeds. The club has suffered a lot in recent years and one thing about Ken is he is a very determined man.

“He will not have bought Leeds to preside over its demise. He will have very definite plans, you only have to look at the success he has achieved in the past to realise he will not want the club to stand still, which can only be good news for the fans.”

Birch felt Krasner and his fellow directors deserved credit for the work they had done since last March.

“The board have done their best and I think fans should realise that without them coming in last March there would be no Leeds United. There is no question the club would have gone under.”