Neil Warnock has admitted Robert Snodgrass' move to Norwich City in 2012 was the final straw for him at Leeds.
The on-loan Scottish international is bidding to join Warnock's Cardiff City back in the Premier League this weekend when he spearhead's Aston Villa's promotion bid in Saturday's Championship play-off final against Fulham.
The duo were together at Elland Road for five months before the Canaries came calling.
'I was so disappointed,' Warnock told Talksport. 'I thought I could have turned that club around. In pre-season, I thought we've got a chance here. And a week before (the season started), Norwich came in for Snodgrass and Ken Bates said to me: 'you've got to sell him for £1 million as we need the money'.
'In the end they got £3 million, and he said: 'you can have half of whatever we get'. Then, unfortunately, two days later Ken told me the bank had stopped him from spending any money.
'Snodgrass. I could have cried. He was the one chance we had. He came to see me and I said: 'I don't want you to go'.
'He said: 'just for the family gaffer, I've got to go.' And he was right and I had to let him go. That just about finished me off up there. I had no chance. But they've not done too well since I left.'
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