Wise lays into Nicholls
04 Mar 2007 - 14:16:29
Leeds United boss Dennis Wise has stripped Kevin Nicholls of the club captaincy after he asked to leave the club for a return to Luton Town.
Midfielder Nicholls sat out the 3-2 weekend reverse at home to Sheffield Wednesday and Wise says he will not play for the Whites again.
He fumed: "Kevin came in to see me on Thursday and I had a phonecall from Mike Newell, the Luton manager, asking if I was interested in letting Kevin go.
"I was gobsmacked when Kevin told me he wanted to go to Luton. I told him that he needed to think about it, but he said he had made up his mind that he had made the wrong decision in coming to Leeds.
"Luton are a team fighting us against relegation. I asked if the reason lay with myself and Gus Poyet, but he said no.
"I could understand it if he had wanted to go to a bigger club, but why would he want to go back to Luton?
"We would want our money back for him, but if Luton think he's going there on loan for the remainder of the season, they must think I am mad."
Nicholls, 28, joined Leeds last summer for £750,000, but injury has restricted him to just 15 appearances this season.