‘Everything you hear’ – Sam Byram claims Leeds players under intense pressure
Sam Byram has said the Leeds United players will be under “very high” pressure because of the expectations at the club under Marcelo Bielsa.
After just missing out on promotion last season, Leeds are going again under Bielsa and are currently top of the league after a 3-2 win against Millwall on Tuesday night.
Byram compared and contrasted his time at Leeds to life under Bielsa and said it was “night and day”.
However, he said that “anything but promotion would be a failure” and that the players would be under intense pressure this season.
Talking in the Athletic Byram said, “When I was at Leeds, we weren’t doing too well. The crowd was about 19,000, so people were not as expectant as they are now.
“I think now, for the players that are playing there now, the top two and anything but promotion is going to be a failure. So the pressure on them will be very high.
“I think the club has made huge strides to where they are now and if you compare it now to when I was there, it is night and day; how the club is run, the training schedule, everything you hear.
“I really do hope for the best for them because it is a massive club and I think they deserve to be back in the Premier League.”
After just one win in eight games, the pressure was showing again for Leeds last night after a very poor first half against Millwall.
Leeds conceded after just four minutes and went 2-0 down before a thrilling comeback in the second half of the game.
It means that Leeds haven’t kept a clean sheet in nine games now, after starting the season with the Championship’s best defence. They’ve conceded 17 in the last nine games.
Goals have been a problem too, but Patrick Bamford scored twice last night and Leeds now have new striker signing Jean-Kevin Augustin on the bench.
That should steady the nerves and hopefully the win against Millwall will be the start of another winning run for Leeds.
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