By Craig Scott

19th Feb, 2020 | 9:00pm

Lee Johnson raves about Leeds player, admits part of him wanted to two-foot Elland Rd ace

Bristol City manager Lee Johnson has admitted that part of him wanted to two-foot Leeds United defender Luke Ayling on Saturday after he was caught spying on a team talk.

Footage has emerged on social media of Ayling, 28, trying to hide behind Bristol City players as Johnson gave them instructions on the touchline at Elland Road.

After being caught, Robins boss Johnson went over to the right-back and pushed him out of the way – clearly in a good-mannered nature.

Ayling scored the winner for Leeds against his old club in the first half and Johnson has since raved about his former player for his impact on the game.

“I was smiling as I did it,” said Johnson, as quoted by the Bristol Post.

“He’s a great lad, first and foremost. And obviously he’s done really well and he was probably the main man in that game the way he played.

“Part of me wanted to – with my player’s head on – tread on his toes, two-foot him, give him a cuddle and pinch him under the arms at the same time.

“But part of me also respected his sneaky nature, listening to what I had to say.

“Fortunately and it’s probably a bit of an example that none of the other lads spotted it and threw him out of the way, because that’s what I’d have done as a player.”

Ayling was superb against Bristol City on Saturday as Leeds won 1-0 at Elland Road.

It was great to see the footage emerge of him after the game where he’s joking around with his former team-mates from Ashton Gate.

Johnson is not the most popular of managers among Leeds United supporters but it was also good to see him taking it well but as he says, it’s probably a good job one of the players didn’t notice first because it is something that could have sparked a bit of a brawl.

In other Leeds United news, a journalist has called on the EFL to take action against the Whites after seeing their recent announcement.