Jermaine Beckford tips Leeds United for mid-table finish
Leeds United finished last season in ninth place in the Premier League table, and Jermaine Beckford believes a top-six finish could still be far off.
The Elland Road outfit faithful are desperate to see their team play in Europe, but Marcelo Bielsa’s side are facing a huge task in their bid to break into those Champions League and Europa League positions this season.
Leeds started the new season with a 5-1 defeat at the hands of Manchester United last weekend, and Beckford reckons a mid-table finish is a realistic target for the Yorkshire side.
Speaking on the official Leeds United podcast, the former striker said when asked what his expectations are for the club this campaign: “For me, I’d say I’m still looking for a mid-table finish. Anywhere between 15th and 7th/8th, I’m very very happy with. Don’t forget, we are still building, and we can’t take what happened last season as a God-given right as much as we want it to be.
“And I do, I desperately do, I want to see us playing European football, but we’ve to build first, build to a point where we are able to sustain that, and get the squad size a little bit bigger, a little bit stronger. Strength in depth.
“So, it’s naturally a building process. So for me, anywhere in between those positions is perfect. Get that 40-point mark as quickly as we can and see where we can end up.”
Reasonable
We punched way above our weights last season and have set the standard very high as our second season back in the top-flight after 16 years starts.
However, fans need to be realistic despite some of the results and performances Leeds pulled off in 2020-21.
Finishing in the top half of the table would be huge this season, and it should not hurt should we miss out on the top-seven.
Bielsa and his men are definitely going to give Europe a go, but competing against teams splashing the cash could be very tough.
Leeds should be thinking about picking up those 40 points and sealing safety first, then we can look forward to what is next after that.
Keeping up the momentum will be a challenge for the Argentine maestro and his team.
We need to prevent that second season syndrome, and securing our top-flight status is the most important thing.
European football remains the dream, but that will take a lot of investment and planning, and the Whites have to take things slow.
In other Leeds news, Whites are closing in on major transfer, fee plus add-ons mooted.