'I Won't Chase The Leeds Dream'

Jewell's Premiership high-fliers play Leeds in the third round of the FA Cup at the JJB Stadium on Saturday.

Former chairman Peter Ridsdale was once famously quoted as saying 'we lived the dream,' only for a nightmare of catastrophic proportions to eventually unfold at Elland Road.

Jewell: 'Leeds are a big club, a great club with great tradition, great fans, facilities, training ground and all that. At the moment, in all but status, they're a Premier League club, but they are also a club who have shown that if you are not run wisely or properly then you can almost end up out of business.

'That is nearly what happened to Leeds United. They are not the only ones. There was Bradford as well, Sheffield Wednesday and others who have been in danger.

'In their quest for European football, Premiership football, success, or whatever, they put the finances to one side, and I am not prepared to do that.

'We've made two bids for two players, both for substantial amounts of money, yet both have been rejected. We've been asked to double our money on one player, and been asked for an extra million pounds on the other, but I've said I won't agree to those. I won't pay any more.

'The world is riddled with teams paying over the odds, and the club ending up paying the price. Leeds did that. They paid over the odds for certain players, paid them too much money and almost paid the price.

'We all have to pay slightly over the odds at some stage for players, but I don't have to do that right now. If we had only 12 points on the table, I might have had to do that, but we are close to securing our Premier League status, and it might yet happen before the end of January.

'But I always try to run the club as properly as I can. It's the chairman's money, the club's money, the supporters' money, and once it's gone, it's gone.'

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