Terry Venables decided David Batty could no longer "operate effectively" in the Premiership after studying videos of his performances last season.
Venables is under pressure with Leeds lying 15th in the Premiership, and for some disgruntled Leeds fans part of the problem has been Venables' refusal to pick Batty.
Venables told Batty he did not plan to play him at the start of the season and says Batty refused the offer of a coaching job at Leeds.
Venables told the News of the World: "Quite frankly I thought David's best days had gone and I told him that. It was not a nice thing to have to do but it had to be done and I thought he accepted the point.
"There's no plot. It simply boils down to my decision as manager of this football club."