Leeds United have confirmed that former Wanderers boss Sam Allardyce will take charge of the final four games of the season.

Allardyce succeeds Javi Gracia, who only spent a couple of months in the hot seat at Elland Road. He will be assisted by former Oxford boss Karl Robinson.

The Yorkshire club are without a win in their last five matches and only above the Premier League relegation zone on goal difference heading into the final four games.

They suffered a 4-1 defeat at Bournemouth over the weekend, with Jefferson Lerma bagging a brace for the hosts. Dominic Solanke and Antoine Semenyo were also on target.

Big Sam has been out of management since leaving West Brom following the conclusion of the 2020/21 campaign.

Before that, the 68-year-old had a stint at Everton and led the Toffees to an eighth-place finish.

He worked with Leeds chief executive Angus Kinnear during his West Ham days, having spent four years with the London outfit.

An official statement read: “Leeds United can confirm Javi Gracia will leave the club after 12 games in charge.

“Zigor Aranalde, Mikel Antia and Juan Solla, who joined alongside Gracia, will also leave the club. We thank Javi and his team for their efforts under difficult circumstances.

“The remaining four games of the season will be overseen by experienced head coach Sam Allardyce.”

Allardyce’s first game in charge will be against Pep Guardiola’s in-form Manchester City side this weekend.

Guardiola’s men have won their last eight league matches as they bid to secure a third successive title.

Leeds also have fixtures against third-place Newcastle and sixth-place Tottenham coming up, as well as a crunch match against relegation rivals West Ham, who currently sit four points above the drop zone.

The Elland Road club narrowly avoided relegation to the Championship last term following a dramatic 2-1 win at Brentford on the final day, which sent Burnley down instead.

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