Howard Wilkinson has revealed the first words he said to his Leeds United players after taking over from Billy Bremner in 1988. The former Sheffield Wednesday manager, who had just left the top-flight club, dropped down a division to join Leeds, who were fourth from bottom in the Second Division at the time.
Wilkinson recalled telling the squad: 'There’s a plane sitting on the runway. It’s going to take off and it’s going to fly. You have three weeks to decide whether you want to get on it or not.' The comment came after many questioned his decision to move to a lower division, including his wife, who reportedly said: 'You’ve got to be joking. Aren’t they in the Second Division?'
In his first meeting with chairman Leslie Silver, Wilkinson advised a cultural overhaul, stating: 'You need to change. You’ve got to change the approach and the culture. You’re living in the past, trying to relive the Don Revie era – but you haven’t got Revie players.'
Wilkinson's tenure proved historic: Leeds won the Second Division the following season and were crowned the last ever winners of the old First Division in 1992. He remains the last English manager to win the top flight of English football.
