Sam Allardyce makes ‘I will gamble’ Leeds United injury admission as he prepares to roll the dice
Leeds United head coach Sam Allardyce vowed that he would “gamble on anyone” in terms of squad fitness, ahead of the game against Tottenham Hotspur on the final day of the Premier League season, as reported by Leeds Live.
Big Sam was commenting regarding Patrick Bamford and Rodrigo, ahead of the clash at Elland Road with the Whites needing a win as well as results elsewhere to go in their favour.
With Leeds in 19th place in the table ahead of the last round of fixtures, they need to beat Spurs as well as Everton and Leicester City slipping up, at home to Bournemouth and West Ham, respectively. It is a tall order, to say the least.
The veteran boss commented that he would give Bamford and Rodrigo as long as possible to prove they can contribute on Sunday, leading to a question if he was saying that he was ready to gamble on individual players.
“I will gamble on anyone’s fitness if they want to play,” he said.
“If I think they’re going to make a contribution to try and help us win the game. It’s the last game, they can have plenty of time to recover.
“There is obviously medical issues where it depends if you risk them, the risk is too great. Then a lot of it is up to the player themselves.”
Outside chance
It would be fair to say that expectations are very grounded ahead of the season finale at Elland Road.
Over recent weeks, the losses in goals and points have added up to the extent that there is very little hope that Allardyce can mastermind a great escape, especially at this very late stage.
This is a Leeds team that can’t defend. That has been proven. Even last week at West Ham, when the Whites grabbed an opener, they didn’t know what to do with it and the hosts went on to secure a convincing, deserved victory.
Given the permutations, it is no more than a very slim outside chance that Leeds has of staying in the Premier League and to be frank, even the prospects of getting the better of a struggling Spurs team are in doubt.
Hopefully Bamford and Rodrigo will make the cut, but it is at the other end of the pitch where Leeds will continue to falter, regardless of the attacking efforts.
One last push lies ahead.
In other Leeds news, the agents of a pair of closely-linked Whites aces are thought to already be searching for moves ahead of possible relegation.