Massimo Cellino lights up his umpteenth cigarette, leans forward while drawing hard on his Merit filter, and begins to tackle his reputation as one of English football’s most controversial owners, and the latest perceived villain in the tragic modern history of Leeds United.

“I can be the best a---hole in the world but I’m not a bad person and I never want to hurt anyone,” he says. “I can be a pain in the a--- but I’m not a bad person. So when people say I’m dishonest, it hurts me.

“When I watch a movie, I’m the sort who wants the police to win, not the bad guys. Some think I’m Machiavellian. ‘You see, Massimo Cellino is a motherf-----.’ I’m not. Sometimes I do things without thinking but if I make a mistake people think I did it on purpose.

“When the fans call me a b------, it hurts me a lot, but I understand the fans who are p----- off. Maybe if I was in their position I’d say the same thing. They’re so used to eating s--- that they don’t believe something good could happen. So many times they’ve had the illusion of the right thing coming along so why should they believe Massimo Cellino is the right one?