Liverpool legend Ian Rush has revealed that he joined Leeds United expecting to be groomed as their future manager when he realised his Anfield playing days were over.
The Welshman took up his new career at Elland Road in 1996 but the grand plan was scuppered when his mentor, Howard Wilkinson, was sacked less than a month into the season.
Rush, then 34, rejected offers from Manchester City and Sunderland when he realised his playing days were over at Liverpool because he felt there were better long-term opportunities at Leeds.
'What made the offer so appealing was that I would understudy Howard with a view to succeeding him as manager within two to three years,' the player reveals in Rush: The Autobiography.
'Having got over the emotion of the actual leaving, I felt strangely detached from Anfield and a loyalty to Leeds.
'My aim was to work towards gaining the UEFA Pro Licence. I felt I would learn a lot under Howard, who was widely respected throughout the game.
'Under Howard, Leeds won the League Championship in 1992. He remains the last Englishman to have steered a club to the title but, for me, his greatest achievement was the youth policy he had instigated at Elland Road.
Wilkinson got Rush involved with training the club's impressive academy, which at the time included Ian Harte, Harry Kewell, Paul Robinson and Jonathan Woodgate.
Things started to change when Wilkinson was replaced by George Graham and Rush left for Newcastle after just one season at the Leeds, where he scored three times in 36 Premiership games.
He eventually went on to manage Chester City in the 2004-05 season but resigned before the end of the campaign.
The Welshman took up his new career at Elland Road in 1996 but the grand plan was scuppered when his mentor, Howard Wilkinson, was sacked less than a month into the season.
Rush, then 34, rejected offers from Manchester City and Sunderland when he realised his playing days were over at Liverpool because he felt there were better long-term opportunities at Leeds.
'What made the offer so appealing was that I would understudy Howard with a view to succeeding him as manager within two to three years,' the player reveals in Rush: The Autobiography.
'Having got over the emotion of the actual leaving, I felt strangely detached from Anfield and a loyalty to Leeds.
'My aim was to work towards gaining the UEFA Pro Licence. I felt I would learn a lot under Howard, who was widely respected throughout the game.
'Under Howard, Leeds won the League Championship in 1992. He remains the last Englishman to have steered a club to the title but, for me, his greatest achievement was the youth policy he had instigated at Elland Road.
Wilkinson got Rush involved with training the club's impressive academy, which at the time included Ian Harte, Harry Kewell, Paul Robinson and Jonathan Woodgate.
Things started to change when Wilkinson was replaced by George Graham and Rush left for Newcastle after just one season at the Leeds, where he scored three times in 36 Premiership games.
He eventually went on to manage Chester City in the 2004-05 season but resigned before the end of the campaign.
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