'Great for Leeds' - Ex-foe reveals love for Gracia which started over Newcastle Brown Ale

The Spaniard will now officially take the reins at Elland Road after his work permit was approved and he's been tipped to succeed in the job.

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"He's a great man, great for Leeds United and great for the English game,' Dowson explains, after the duo forged an unlikely friendship during his time as Woking manager.

It's no surprise then that the Dartford boss believes Gracia will endear himself to the Elland Road faithful by keeping the Whites in the Premier League.

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The duo came up against each other in 2019 when Gracia was in charge of Watford, with the Spaniard taking the Hornets to the Laithwaite Community Stadium to face Dowson's Woking in the FA Cup third round.

Unfortunately, there wasn't any FA Cup magic on that day, as Watford ran out 2-0 winners thanks to goals from Will Hughes and Troy Deeney, with the Golden Boys going onto reach the FA Cup final that season under Gracia.

But that FA Cup tie against Woking seemed to resonate with Gracia, so much so that he presented Dowson with a bottle of sangria post-match to thank the National League side for their hospitality.

Not to miss an opportunity, Dowson returned the favour by gifting the Spaniard a bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale from his hometown of Gateshead, which proved to be the start of a friendship which has lasted until this day.

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Speaking exclusively to talkSPORT, Dowson said: "I knew he was going to do something for us, so on the way to the game I thought I'll go and get a Newcastle Brown Ale bottle.

"It's obviously a massive tradition up in the North East. My great, great grandad had the rights on the Newcastle Brown Ale bottle. The rights used to be Dowson Beer all over the North East. He sold all the rights, so I could have been a multi-millionaire myself now!

"So, I went in the local shop and got one, but I had to hide it because I didn't want to walk into the game with a Newcastle Brown Ale bottle. So, I hid it in my bag.

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"After the game, I said: 'Come into my office,' and I gave him it and he said: 'If we win the cup, I'll drink it!' But obviously, they [Watford] didn't win the cup, so, I hope it's still not there now!

"He had a personality about him where you looked at him in awe a little bit, because he's such a gentleman. After the game, he came straight into the office for a drink and he stayed there for a good hour and chatted away. He said: 'If you want to come down for pre-season, come down.'

"So, the following summer, we went down and had a pre-season game behind closed doors and he got us something to eat. He made Troy Deeney give away a top, so we could raffle the top off. You wouldn't get that anywhere else.

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"He just showed a lot of class about him. He came out and said: 'Well done and just keep in touch.' He's a fantastic bloke."

"Ever since that time when I met him [at Watford] I've always sent him texts here [and there] and he sends them back," Dowson continues.

"When I was at Woking, the following season when the pandemic came, we were trying to raise money by getting names on the shirts and you had to pay £200 to buy a shirt and get your name on the shirt.

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"I sent him a text and he done a little piece on it for our website and he actually brought a shirt himself and put his name on it and that shows the class of the man.

"I'm sure he'll keep Leeds up, that's my belief anyway. The players will love him. I imagine he's somebody you want to play for.

"I think the fans will warm to him, because he's somebody who will give them time as well. If he gives the players time, I can imagine him to be a very good manager to play for to be honest."