Darko Milanic is the latest to sit in the Leeds hot-seat

Neil Redfearn didn't get the Leeds job

Darko Milanic is the new man at Elland Road as the former Slovenian international steps into the top job.

Former Slovenian international defender Darko Milanic is the latest person to fill the managerial hot-seat at Leeds United.

The 46-year old was announced this week as the permanent replacement for the fired David Hockaday at Elland Road.

It's a surprising choice by owner Massimo Cellino, after the job was previously linked to former Liverpool and England striker Robbie Fowler and the recent Argentinian national manager Alejandro Sabella, both of whom would have arrived at Leeds with previous history with the club.

Such a background is important at Leeds where the passionate fan base still regales all and sundry with stories of the glory days of the 70's and more recently their exploits in the Champions League in the early 2000's.

Born in Izola near the Italian-Yugoslav border in 1967, Milanic joined Partizan Belgrade as a teenager and garnered a reputation as a solid, if unspectacular, defender before moving on to Sturm Graz of the Austrian Bundesliga.

Capped internationally by both Yugoslavia and Slovenia, gaining the captaincy of the latter at Euro 2000, Milanic moved into coaching following his playing career and had excellent domestic success with Maribor from 2008 to 2013.

The Slovenian side is probably best known in the UK for being part of the same group as Tottenham Hotspur in the 2012 Europa League, drawing with Spurs at the Ljudski Vrt Stadium before losing the return at White Hart Lane a couple of weeks later.

Milanic moved on from Maribor in June of 2013 to return to his old stomping ground at Sturm Graz and led the club to a disappointing fifth place in the league last season, behind champions SV Salzburg, Rapid Vienna, SV Grodig and Austria Vienna.

Won 13, lost 14 and drawn nine with an even record of 55 goals for and against speaks to the generally conservative tactical reputation of the Slovenian and again this seems somewhat at odds with the stated desires of Cellino.

Famed for his hiring and firing style while the owner of Cagliari in the Serie A, Cellino may have overlooked the obvious in making the appointment with some in the game questioning why interim manager Neil Redfearn was not given more of an opportunity.

The midfielder, who played over 20 years of professional football, was unbeaten in four starts as the caretaker, helping move the club up to 12th in the Championship and now returns to his previous role as the Academy Manager and Head of Coaching.

Plucked from relative obscurity doesn't make it a poor hire but, with Cellino as the owner, the expectations will be high for Milanic.