The departure of Madger Gomes could be an early portent for a productive pre-season at Elland Road.

The Spanish midfielder had been picked up on a free transfer from Liverpool only last summer.

However, his failure to convince either Thomas Christiansen or Paul Heckingbottom led to his departure to FC Sochaux-Montbéliard - This move suggests Leeds are going to clear out the dead wood in the squad. It is a promising sign.

Gomes managed two first team appearances last season.

Both were in the League Cup against fourth tier opponents. Both resulted in a yellow card and nothing else. While he is only 21 and has plenty of time to develop, he was not included in any other match day squad bar the third round of the League Cup.

This shows successive managers did not think he deserved to be close to the first team.

For Leeds to push on, they need to strip back more.

Players like Hadi Sacko must be moved on to fresh pastures, so that players who can create pressure for places can be brought in.

The most successful sides are ones who can withstand injury or a player’s loss in form because they can ably replace them.

Seeing that Sacko was coming on inspired neither hope amongst the Elland Road faithful nor fear amongst their opponents.

Without a manager, the board may be reticent to allow for too many departures.

They should not be.

They should be bold and get on with the cull.