Leeds United hero Pablo Hernandez has taken another step in his managerial career after accepting an interim position.
The ex-Leeds attacker moved into coaching in June 2024 taking charge of the B team at his boyhood club Castellon. In May of this year he celebrated his first title, leading his men to a fifth-tier Tercera Division championship on the final day of the campaign.
Hernandez' 2025/26 season in the Segunda Federación - Spain's fourth tier - has only just got underway with a win and a loss in their first two games. But already the 40-year-old has found himself moving up two levels into La Liga 2 after Castellon's senior side parted ways with manager Johan Plat. A club statement said: "CD Castellón announces the dismissal of Johan Plat as first team manager. We thank him for his work during his 24 matches with the club and appreciate his efforts to secure safety last season. We wish Johan every success in his future endeavours. Pablo Hernández will take over as caretaker manager of the first team."
Castellon sit 20th in Spain's second division having lost three and drawn two of their opening games this season. Hernandez, who remains a wildly popular figure at Elland Road where he spent almost five years and won a Championship title, has previously gone on record to admit it would be a dream to manage the Whites or Valencia - the only other club for whom he turned out more than 100 times.
“Valencia and Leeds have been the clubs where I have spent the most time,” Hernandez told Flashscore. “Obviously, those two clubs, along with Club Deportivo Castellón, are very important to me. There were five years [at Leeds] where I felt very loved, very important, where I managed to get promoted to the Premier League and where, the truth is, I really enjoyed myself as a player.
“Yes, obviously the clubs that are so important to me would be a dream [to manage], but it is something I am not considering at the moment. First, I want to learn a lot, I have a lot to learn, see if this is what really fulfils me and what I like, and in the future we will see what it holds.”
Hernandez' ability to give Leeds a little bit of magic brought 36 goals and 41 assists during his time at Elland Road. The number 10 position has been difficult if not impossible for Leeds to fill ever since his 2021 departure and his name regularly rings out around LS11 on matchdays.
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