The Whites sacked Jesse Marsch and then kicked off their hunt for a new manager to replace the American.
Rayo Vallecano boss Andoni Iraola and Feyenoord coach Arne Slot were the two men that Leeds chased, with director of football Victor Orta flying to both Spain and the Netherlands.
Leeds were unable to appoint either manager though and had to settle for the out of work Javi Gracia.
Kinnear is unwilling to take the blame for Leeds not landing two of the managers they identified and insists the managers in question underestimated how much their current clubs wanted to keep them.
He wrote in Leeds’ matchday programme: “The delay was primarily due to two of the identified candidates who we knew wanted the role and believed they could be released, misjudged the strength of resolve that their current clubs had to retain them.
“Javi was on our radar and did not have any contractual complexity that prevented him from committing quickly.”
Gracia will kick off his bid to guide Leeds to survival in the Premier League this afternoon when the Whites welcome fellow strugglers Southampton to Elland Road.
