Warnock happy with Leeds life

Neil Warnock admits he would not swap jobs with Roberto Mancini as Leeds prepares to lock horns with Manchester City in the FA Cup on Sunday.

Last Updated: 16/02/13 at 13:44 Post Comment

Neil Warnock: Pits wits against Man City on Sunday

Neil Warnock: Pits wits against Man City on Sunday

While the 64-year-old is struggling to mount a charge for the Championship play-offs with the Whites, Mancini also appears to be falling short of his targets.

City's defence of their Premier League crown looks to be fading fast as they sit 12 points behind Manchester United with just 12 games to play after failing to emulate last season's impressive performances.

Warnock, sacked by QPR last term after leading the club into the top flight, has had little financial support at Leeds but is adamant he is happy in his current environment, while Italian Mancini has spent millions on assembling a world-class squad at the Etihad Stadium.

"I don't think I'd be able to cope. I only had six months with the current type of Premier League players and I didn't enjoy that at all," Warnock said.

"I wouldn't like to have two teams where you've got 11 or 12 not in the team to deal with, who are world class players, who all think they should be in the team, who all their agents think they should be in the team. Good luck to them.

"I don't envy that at all. It's fabulous to have a team like that, but I don't envy the off-the-field things that you get.

"It's a major problem at the top clubs I think. I'd love to go up with Leeds, with a genuine bunch of lads, like we did at QPR - most of them are back in the team now - it's great to go up with a team like that.

"I think people like Mancini, and I'm not being disrespectful to him, need the financial support they've got. Like Mourinho. I don't think they could manage at Leeds in the current climate, or anywhere else other than top level, that's the way they are."

Warnock is set to be reunited with striker Carlos Tevez, who controversially condemned the veteran manager's former club Sheffield United to relegation in 2007.

West Ham were fined £5million by a Premier League inquiry for breaching rules governing third-party ownership, but they received no points deduction and Tevez was allowed to play in the final three games of the campaign.

The Argentinian's winner at Old Trafford on the final day saved the Hammers from the drop and, six years later with the Blades set to receive their final compensation payment before the summer, Warnock insists he has moved on.

"We have a laugh about it. I said to him last time I saw him you cost me a million quid and he understood my English," Warnock said.

"He had a laugh. He's a fabulous player isn't he? If I'd managed to get him at Sheffield United I'd have been delighted with him.

"It's one of those things. I was reading they get their last payment. I've not had my staying-up bonus yet!

"You look back at many things in your career that grate with you. I don't think it's the number one in my career, I've got things that grate on my mind more than that one. You'll have to read my book when it's out."

Leeds have excelled in the cup competitions this season, recording impressive victories over Everton, Southampton and Tottenham.

Their league form has been far too inconsistent, though, with Tuesday's 1-0 defeat at fellow play-off hopefuls Middlesbrough leaving them eight points adrift of the top six.

However, Warnock believes his team have been unlucky in recent weeks.

"If you look back at all the games we could very easily be well in the play-offs," he added. "Even the last three games. That's the big frustration for me and the fans.

"I think that's why the fans have been vocal as well. The three games, Cardiff, Wolves and Middlesbrough, how we've not got nine points out of those I'll never know, so it is doubly frustrating for me."

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