Robbie Keane makes timing claim following Leeds United’s relegation | OneFootball

Leeds United were relegated from the Premier League to the Championship, and Robbie Keane believes he and Sam Allardyce should have been given longer to keep the club up.

Keane told Betway that they "probably came in a little bit too late. It would have been nice if we’d have got in there earlier, I think it would have been a lot different."

The ex-Republic of Ireland international, who scored 19 goals in 56 appearances as a player for the Whites from 2001 to 2002, was a first-team coach at Elland Road under Allardyce.

The 42-year-old was part of the coaching staff alongside former Charlton Athletic, MK Dons, and Oxford United boss Karl Robinson.

However, they weren't able to save Leeds, drawing one and losing three of the four games they had in charge of the West Yorkshire outfit.

Leeds' 19th placed Premier League finish ends a three-year stay in the top flight after Marcelo Bielsa gained promotion with the club in 2020.

Speaking to Betway, Keane explained that the experience was good for him, in what was only his fourth role in coaching, he said: "My time at Leeds was very enjoyable, in terms of the experience and being back at my old club. There are really good people there, good staff. It’s a club that’s got a great history."

However, Keane believes they should have been given longer to turn things around at Elland Road, he added: "Unfortunately, we probably came in a little bit too late. It would have been nice if we’d have got in there earlier, I think it would have been a lot different.

"The experience was great, apart from the results, but we knew we were going to be up against it with the teams we were playing.

"It was great to work with Sam, with the experience that he has, to just learn how he is with players and with staff – he’s got a really good way about him, and you can see why he’s been very successful. "You can only learn from these managers who have got the experience he’s got, who can do what he has done over the years in these situations.

"He’d probably admit himself that we came in too late, and if the timing was a little bit earlier, I think we could have made a huge difference."

Should Allardyce have been given longer with Leeds?

It's difficult to see how any manager would have kept Leeds up in their situation towards the back end of last season, but Allardyce was realistically no better than Leeds' other managers last season.

Javi Gracia was rightly sacked, and if he had been earlier, perhaps Allardyce could have got more out of the team with a few extra fixtures, but the club were in a shambolic state, so it would not have been guaranteed.

Keane's claim perhaps has some truth to it, given the state of the side under Gracia, but they may well have still been relegated, even if they had managed a few extra points in the end.