Jermaine Beckford names Leeds player who was ‘half a pace behind’ v Forest
Jermaine Beckford has said that the return of Kalvin Phillips is huge for Leeds United tonight and that stand-in Ben White was always going to be “half a pace behind”.
Phillips returns for Leeds tonight after serving a three-game suspension for a red card he was given in the game against QPR.
Marcelo Bielsa has confirmed that Phillips will go straight back into the side and Beckford thinks this could make a difference and said he was a “massive, massive miss”.
White was used in the holding midfield role against Nottingham Forest but should move back to his normal centre-back spot tonight.
Talking on Drive (talkSPORT, Tuesday, 4pm) Beckford said, “It’s not good but we’re second in the league and that’s what everyone’s failing to recognise.
“Four of the last five games have been losses but the performances have been okay, we just can’t put the ball in the net.”
Host Adrian Durham said that he disagreed and that Leeds were “garbage” against Nottingham Forest.
“Creativity was lacking,” Beckford admitted. “Kalvin Phillips was a massive, massive miss and they’ve been desperate to get him back in.
“Whitey did okay but ultimately it’s a defender in a midfield position. He’s always going to find himself half a pace behind.”
Phillips is the one Leeds player who is absolutely Premier League quality and we think he’ll be playing in the top flight next season whether Leeds go up or not.
There’s going to be a big weight on his shoulders tonight, though, and Leeds need a big performance from him.
He needs to deliver but also ensure he doesn’t do anything rash like he did in the QPR game. He’s always got a bad tackle in him but Leeds need him to be playing every game between now and the end of the season.
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