'Absolute shambles' - Ex-Leeds United man lifts lid on Massimo Cellino's ownership, antics and message

Stephen Warnock has lifted the lid on what life was like as a Leeds United player during Massimo Cellino's time as owner. Warnock is a familiar face to most football fans these days as he forges a career for himself as a pundit, covering both the Premier League and the EFL.

He's even more familiar to Leeds supporters, though, having spent two years with the club between January 2013 and January 2015. The full-back made 67 appearances for the Whites and even captained the side for a brief period before his eventual exit.

But his time at the club coincided with Cellino's, with the Italian successfully buying the West Yorkshire outfit in 2014, despite initially failing the Football League's owner's test. Changes were implemented immediately by Cellino, with Warnock going into detail about the amount of cost cutting that went on, particularly at Thorp Arch when it came to first-team matters.

"Massimo Cellino, that was a s***show. The set-up at Thorp Arch was incredible, good training facilities," Warnock said when recounting his time at Leeds to the Undr the Cosh podcast. "They had a swimming pool, ice baths, and Jacuzzis.

"I remember being in the Jacuzzi and he walked in. He blanked us, turned around and spoke to one of the guys showing him round and said, ‘this can go’ about the ice bath and Jacuzzi. He said, 'That needs to be emptied’ about the pool. He cost-cut everything.

"I get a message, and I’m thinking, 'This is a wind-up, this can’t be true.' You need to buy your own slips and socks. And I'm thinking, 'Really?' Next message, you need to bring in your own lunch. A packed lunch, and your breakfast if you want breakfast.

Get a personalised Leeds United news round-up, as well as breaking news, when you sign up for our free Leeds United newsletter email. "You can make it in the kitchen, there will be a toaster, kettle and a fridge. Got rid of all the chefs and everything. It was an absolute shambles."

Cellino spent three years as owner at Elland Road and went through a total seven managers, with Dave Hockaday and Darko Milanic both getting just six games in charge before changes were made, while Uwe Rosler was allowed 12 games.

The 67-year-old purchased Italian Serie B side Brescia shortly after selling Leeds to Andrea Radrizzani in 2017, and under his ownership they have spent one season in the top flight. However, it seems he could close to selling the club with reports last month suggesting that a US consortium had placed an offer to buy Brescia, however, the bid reportedly fell someway short of Cellino's €25m asking price.